Audio: Read by the author.
Loss, you have been our regent,
Refusing the refugees
————————-—you sent.
Truly we’re boxed in an annex
Of the mansion
—————–—of your text.
You turn hummingbirds to dirt
And feed humans
——————-—to earth.
By your annotation
———————-—we’re smashed,
Filled with the alphabet of wrath.
You wipe out the watchers
In the night of your butcher.
May we reside
——————in the skies
Of others’ eyes?—
For the annals of our days
Will be washed away.
Philip Metres has written numerous books, including Shrapnel Maps (Copper Canyon). Winner of Guggenheim, Lannan, and NEA fellowships, he is professor of English and director of the Peace, Justice, and Human Rights program at John Carroll University.