At 18, Ayat swore an oath and strapped explosives on.
She walked into their marketplace, pushed buttons and was gone.
Some say that she’s in heaven now, a martyr pure and free,
But twenty victims families might beg to disagree.

Girl, interrupted
Book closed too soon
Sacrificed in Allah’s name
Blown out like a candle’s flame.
Child of God,
Gone too soon.

At 32, Jesus gave his life upon a tree.
His death was not for hate or shame, He died for you and me.
But when I think of Ayat’s death, I do not think of heav’n
Instead I grieve for all we lost, and all she could have given.

Girl, interrupted
Book closed too soon
Sacrificed in Allah’s name
Blown out like a candle’s flame.
Child of God,
Gone too soon.

Two children born of Bethlehem, millennia apart,
One nurtured within Isaac’s clan, the other Ishmael’s heart.
Each grew and lived in poverty, their homeland occupied.
Each gave a life in martyrdom, with violence… both died.
In death, the likeness vanishes, both go their separate ways.
For Ayat killed to end her pain- and Jesus died to save.

Girl, interrupted
Book closed too soon
Sacrificed in Allah’s name
Blown out like a candle’s flame.
Child of God,
Gone too soon.