Seeds
Seeds
(First published on Turquoise Monster)
I sit beneith the flame tress
Sipping mango juice
Wanting oogarly
In it’s milky sweetness
The sky is odd here
But not as different as I thought
Edges too sharp
The ground glitters
Earth red and orange
With large flat grey stones
Ox pull carts
With solum eyed boys
At their heads
I watch water being pumped
Orange and reeking
Into a truck
Destination – Towns drinking water
I sigh
My once white underwear
Streaked and stained
Because of that water
The too thin man opposite me
Thanks me once more
Bright teeth in dark face
He pushes the question again
Stay – teach our children
I feel the pang
I can not
I am home sick already
Go – he says
Become the geologist I train to be
Come back – he says
Dig wells
I sigh and look
Too equatorial skies
Wondering if I ever will
Come back to this land
He smiles
“You like the flame trees?”
I nod
“The seeds make good earrings”
And he is leaving
Taking the medical supplies with him
I look at my glowing
White hands
With bitten nails
I am 19 years old
I quell the guilt
By filling a press sill bag
Full of dark, round seeds
And dream
Of saving the world
Posted: Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 @ 12:09 pm
Categories: Verse.
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