The First Boy

The first boy 

who ever wet my lips with his own 

held the woman he promised to marry 

as her blood painted the white sand red. 

He buried her in a stranger’s graveyard, 

and returned home, a thousand miles away 

from the ghosts that slept beside him. 

Density

 You are my density, 

thick-headed love, 

stubborn as water is wet. 

Let Freedom Ring

My cousin 

sends me 

letters 

from across 

the world. 

He tells me 

of the weather, 

of training, 

of cold nights 

and uncomfortable tents. 

He is alone 

in a crowd of men 

just like him. 

He will not 

celebrate 

the birth of 

the nation 

he is fighting for- 

he is 

far too busy 

protecting it.