My tax dollars support the genocide

And the night heron shifts weight from one leg to another

My tax dollars support genocide

And the flagrant fish lay still near the surface of the canal

My tax dollars support genocide

And my wife lays her warm thigh on mine

My tax dollars support genocide

And my beautiful niece walks slow under the jhapta

My tax dollars support genocide

And the trees dress in glossy leaves and block the river from view

My tax dollars support genocide

and the susuk swims sideways in muddy water

My tax dollars support genocide

And my grandmother declines, open eyed in her hospital bed

My tax dollars support genocide

And the cardinal flashes red

then abandons the shaking branch

This poem appeared in Hunger Mountain, Issue 30, Summer 2024.

10.09.2026

komentarze