no fancy
electric
floor scrubbers
here
just a woman
on her knees
older than her age
with
a lifetime
of pain
in her back
she is the bearer
of life
but
she must be
invisible
for
people walk
right through her
brushing against her flesh
as if pushing away
a stray animal
ignoring
knotted hands
that
nightly fold in prayers
prayers that
her
children
will never
wear society’s cloak
of
invisibility
the bird looks to its parents
crying out for survival
the human child cries also
seeking more than sustenance
sustenance feeds not the soul
human survival needs love
these thoughts
i have
are
without consequence
they are
merely
my attempts
to order
my breaths
into harmonious chords
chords
once transcribed
into notes
of memory
will be
forgotten
never
to be sung
again
nor
played
upon
some
angelic harp
these notes
are
much too
sour
for that
my
words
the lyrics
are
empty prayers
that will not
halt
the procession
of tears
that carve
their way
across
a child’s
surviving parent’s face
nor
will they
feed
one
starving child
whose name
will remain
unknown
to most
accept
those
who stand
beside
their
gravesite
all
will be
forgotten
and
the circle game
will
begin
again
stone tears
roll slowly
down
her cheek
tears
hardened
by war
another son
cast
into a myth
of
eternal life
for
service
to a god
who does not
fight
his own
battles
Read Between the Minds 