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Steve Elkins

  1. Writings

Poems

Written in 2005 during travels in Nicaragua.
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  • NICARAGUA<br />
(for Jose Reyes)<br />
<br />
they wade through reeds of virgins' hair,<br />
these families,<br />
that veer from the riverbed<br />
like centuries<br />
to watch the glowing stream of roses<br />
<br />
had the government not cut our power,<br />
the hallways would not have converged with the streets<br />
in a seamless runway of candles.<br />
had our flashlights not gone out,<br />
this cave would not have become<br />
a constellation of glowworms.<br />
had we not begun to walk,<br />
we would not have discovered that cities are built with feet<br />
rather than hands.<br />
had these vines not hollowed this tree,<br />
splintering bark and sap,<br />
no light would pass through.<br />
<br />
racks of machetes fill the supermarket:<br />
Nicaragua, only your children know the secret<br />
to letting the fireflies loose from them.

    NICARAGUA
    (for Jose Reyes)

    they wade through reeds of virgins' hair,
    these families,
    that veer from the riverbed
    like centuries
    to watch the glowing stream of roses

    had the government not cut our power,
    the hallways would not have converged with the streets
    in a seamless runway of candles.
    had our flashlights not gone out,
    this cave would not have become
    a constellation of glowworms.
    had we not begun to walk,
    we would not have discovered that cities are built with feet
    rather than hands.
    had these vines not hollowed this tree,
    splintering bark and sap,
    no light would pass through.

    racks of machetes fill the supermarket:
    Nicaragua, only your children know the secret
    to letting the fireflies loose from them.

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