In the shelled cities, in the ghost towns,
among the buff-colored hulls of strafed
buildings, the dead congregate: brides
who never consummated their vows,
their bridegrooms in whose mouths sand
rained the lost hours before they
could even fill with sweets and dates.
And the wraiths of mothers who pined away,
not knowing which part of the desert
they should water with their tears;
which rock cradled the tongueless
or sightless remains of husband,
brother, son— Above the oil fields
and endless plains, the calculus
continues, one end of the hourglass
swinging over to the other;
and under night’s dark tent, stars reel:
so many hornets released from the nest.
—Luisa A. Igloria
10 20 2011
In response to an entry from The Morning Porch.