wide hemisphere of roiling and din
flung mud as a tank rolls by
soon blood will river the road
the emptying of soul in order to
kill, obey orders, kill
who we are in the shadows
across the border, arms laden with blankets
this dead child stops nothing
the weaponry, intricate and ancient
the moon above it all
how do we still descend into sleep
the barricades of emotion, less animal,
more machine, never a new story
the red-gold of fire, daggers from the sky
that dead child stops nothing
grief hovers over every acre, a leaden chant,
bones and bodies hurried into the dark
the bridge is gone, a trickle of brown water
still running over rocks, the building, the side
of the building, the truck, the hospital
these dead children stop nothing
Mercedes Lawry is the author of three chapbooks, the latest, In the Early Garden with Reason,was selected by Molly Peacock for the 2018 WaterSedge Chapbook Contest. Her poetry has appeared in such journals as Poetry, Nimrod, and Prairie Schooner and she’s been nominated seven times for a Pushcart Prize. She’s frequently published short fiction and was a semi-finalist in The Best Small Fictions 2016. Her poetry book, Vestiges, will be published in 2023 by Kelsay Press.
