I.
here is the place
the place we stood
the place we understood
the place we stand
the place we understand

II.
they are screeching in the distance
voices and wheels, one vehicle of persecution
hear the monster roaring louder
there is a ringing in your ears
then a shockwave

III.
your sister clings to your arm
stumbling
wailing
and you’re empty when you try to speak because
you're at the center of the storm

IV.
scream
and rip out the sinews that bound your heart together
they have now been cut
let go of them
and watch them fall
into the tear gas and the blood

V.
and when you are ready
tend to the fragile, the injured, the weak
whose colors have been spilled
on cobbled streets and grassy hills
please

incubate their souls