HARD LABOR
A chrysanthemum petal makes me think of a swapped
prisoner. What was given up for this beauty pressing
against the marble countertop like a face? My country
regularly brings an innocent home in return for cold
blood, an art teacher for an assassin. A bottle of sky-
blue Windex stands by the photo frame by the bananas
like a guard. Prisoners clean their own cells, I’m told.
To wit, I feel your soft hand on mine as I shine the glass
at all hours, removing the smudge of our separated lives.
—from Poets Respond
__________
Rex Wilder: “Inspired by the prisoner swap with Russia.”
