Farah Ghafoor
BIRD ON POWERLINE
it is not easy to forget a language it’s not that easy when
it runs swift even as the thickest blood take power
or escape. hold shambles
or sword.
crow your throat when your accent comes out
and you bite your tongue your live wire
you bite
your tongue and your static vocal cords
shiver at the damage
of this rich sound or a beautiful car crash
screech and prying streetlights
of people prying into the dead bodies &&in you
if you can’t keep your mouth shut
try to forget when you steep words in the melting pot
of your mouth
names seeped in prayer not beg. roomfuls of breath
stolen from family so
your tongue releases to curve
around words as cold and lonely
as the single dark figure in a brilliant gold and blue
witness to the wreckage over the thin roads
of rubber shuddering volts designed to take you anywhere but home