army tanks,
resting on one hip,
sink into the tall grass

by the playground
mothers hunt
for hypodermic needles
among dandelions

the children cry from
car seats, ready for their mothers
to return from minefields

meanwhile

the stone boy
never moves from the river’s edge
his pole cast cross river –

waiting to hook a dream

Poetry Quarterly, Prolific Press, Fall Issue 2017

Patience