April 30, 2017Time(s)
The news is there’s a shortage of coffins,
the telegram has been decoded,
and the grandmother deported despite dementia.
The news is the toucan is heading up the mountain,
they’re playing volleyball at the nuclear test site
(the satellite shows), they’re bartering tampons in jail,
they’re smoking to feel free, they’re letting her speak,
they’re not letting her speak, they’re not letting her
show her face. The news is truth-telling
leads to reconciliation, there’s a shivering,
what they did is unspeakable, but some speak
of it, some think coming home is worth the risk,
the rendezvous is worth risking what the mountains
are silent about, some escape, some on foot,
some are rousted from the riverbanks
minutes before the flood, playing violins filled with water.
from Poets Respond