And why a horse?

                    We loved our horses,
                    the velvet of their noses,
                    the knowing
                    in their eyes, our broken
                    stallions nuzzled us
                    and we dreamed
                    of drumming an unbroken land
                    braided with rivers,
                    so long infested with invaders—

And where did the invaders lie?

                    In an unworded silence

                    in the stifling interior

                    in the belly of the animal—

And why?

                    Appetite—

And why?

                    It is always only appetite—

And if?

                    If only we had built
                    our buildings

                    as ruins,
                    it would have saved us

                    so much time—

And how thin was your hope?

                    Thinner than the skin
                    on warm milk as it cools

                    Thinner than the lilac-veined lids
                    drawn across a newborn’s eyes—

And how many of them were inside?

                    Few enough
                    that they kept
                    their mouths shut

                    More than enough
                    to shut ours

                    And, of course,
                    they opened the gates—

And how many of them were outside?

                    Thousands

                    They crawled the beach
                    on a moonless night
                    like turtles
                    in their armor

                    shreds of wool
                    were tucked
                    in the hinges
                    to deaden
                    any clanking

                    The wet sand
                    ate the sound—

And what did they carry?

                    A ten-year, aching, blue-balled
                    rage—

And what did they do?

                    What cannot be undone—

And what did they do?

                    They discovered
                    how high
                    you can fling a baby

                    They discovered
                    the sound
                    it makes

                    when it lands—

And where did the invaders lie?

                    Among us

                    Even as we celebrated, drinking
                    wine deep into the night,
                    they were always
                    there, among us—

And where did the invaders lie?

                    Deep in the courtyard
                    of the sacred temple—

And who put them there?

                    We did—

And who put them there?

                    We did.

                    
                                        (winner of the Editors’ Prize for issue 31&2)