Clean

In a museum, photos:
people later slaughtered stare at a camera.
Ones who are defiant. Ones who are
terrified. Ones young enough to understand

they keep us living petting
our baby chick hearts
a little more tenderly. The latest useless

sorrow. Our helpless selfishness. Let
the world go sadder. And clean.


From SHE DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000)