Believe

We were told to keep our heads down.
To forget what we saw on the way 
here— Razed lands, furrows seeded
with stumps and fingers. 
We were told to close our eyes 
when flares descended to melt 
the earth under our sandals.   
Thousands of wings once beat the air
as they departed into the sky. My heart
was the size of an apple, flesh and skin
dissolving into itself. I clung 
to a promise we heard in the time before: 
there will be rain again, cool
evenings streaked with ordinary light. 
Orchards will leap up from the earth 
to embrace a chorus of returning birds.