Watch Animals Closely for Strange Behavior
Luzon, 1990. Fatalities: est. 1,621.
after the quake
to remind you flight was never meant to be forever
your mother will gift you a pocketful
of broken feathers
an apology of fading stars
what might otherwise be mistaken for daylight
you’ll have bolted your furniture
installed latches on cabinets
learned doorways are no stronger than any other part of a building
but your father will have taught you
to carry a sack of centavos
burlap cradling coins to feed both living & dead
after the quake practice being less than quiet
to shrug silent
to unexist
to step lightly over figures who wear your sister’s clothes
those limp things lining street gutters
fractured
shoeless
after the quake boys whose soles are pricked with glint-glass will gather at your house
though you’ll have hung wreaths woven
from the hair of elders
silver above windows to ward off looters to whom you’ll tell stories with no words
because everyone should know
what a mouth with no tongue sounds like
it won’t be long until colors won’t matter
what shadow shapes do you see when no one is in sight?
what does a tree look like what does a church look like
what does God look like
after the quake be cautious
watch animals closely for strange behavior
extinguish small fires
& follow trails of flies to find the faceless under rubble
who would have thought a city could run out of caskets
who ever thought about caskets needing linings
silk or brocade to cradle puffed arms & legs
where will the wood come from where will the nails come from
after the quake
to remind you flight was never meant to be forever
what’s left of your cousins will put makeshift coffins together from tarp & old wood
stuff them with limbs
fling them off cliffs to be buried
about the author
