not on this day

There are people involved, in the, incident. There are mouths and women to feed. Babies. There are mannequins to stand up. There are

There are

whole countries. Dilapidation. Depr
ivation.

Departments. Whole bodies of

code & words

there are countries

there are women
with brown, flat bellies
there are children

there, ah, mud,
there's a mudslide

there is a 17-year-old named J------ wrestling in Ohio mud
still a v-----

there is a 17-year-old named D--- running around a track
soon to learn about the planes hitting the World Trade Center

there is a 17-year-old named S------- doing cartwheels
on a thin, elevated beam. She will be your girlfriend.
You will be her first. She will teach you how to love
again.

There are

winds, currents in the ocean, there are mud-beams,

there is no light in places.
there is cod, there are cold dark places
and desperate men who fish,
there is love, there is sun
but not on this day.