549

At the time when things were formed
and put in place,

could be “icy” or “i cry.”

You do what the man wants, don’t you?
It’s like how money
is based on gold.

There are no windows.
No source of light
apart from the pro­jec­tions of old movies.

Just those films of the car­ni­val again

and the beat up houses.

The theme is mar­riage. We want
the theme to be refreshing.
To calm the eye. Does he hit you?

Believe it or not, the rose
is a declaration
of love. It’s a symbol.

551

To bend the teeth of a per­ma­nent displacement?
I think it means “fear of strangers.”

All those sto­ries of brav­ery and loss.

Two sets of broth­ers, the grave­yard in passing.
Did you notice the old woman?

She was car­ry­ing a gold-framed por­trait under her arm.

Kate Green­street is the author of The Last 4 Things and case sen­si­tive, both from Ahsah­ta Press, and five chap­books. Ahsah­ta will pub­lish her new book, Young Tam­bling, in 2013. Her work can also be found in Chica­go Review, Col­orado Review, Fence, Volt, Boston Review, and oth­er journals.