after W.S. Merwin
What woke you that morning?
Four explosions.
Paper fell from the sky.
What wakes you now?Paper fell from the sky.
Silence at 8:45.
Bells and hymns at 9:03.
Why then?The start of my guard.
The memory of the skyline.
Where is your mind?The memory of the skyline.
In bullets and bombs.
Prying under black hoods.
Yes. Where else?Prying under black hoods.
Somewhere across the ocean.
On the shores of oil fields.
Where are you?On the shores of oil fields.
Right here.
In this room.
Where is the terror?In this room.
Overseas in a jetliner.
On the shores of oil fields.
No. Where is the terror?On the shores of oil fields.
Right here.
In this room.
In this room.
Christopher Dollard was born in 1986 and raised in Montville, Connecticut, and South Kingstown, Rhode Island. He is currently a student at Rhode Island College and lives in Providence, RI. His work has appeared in The North Central Review.
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