sentinels, we wait
by the phone & mailbox
while late march

chases us inside
to fireplace comfort;
when did ouroboros
undo herself

to strike home
from around the world?
these Appalachians

mimic Al Muthanna--
the quiet of daytime
& night's cold noise.

on the news, blood rhetoric
slips between commercials
and forced laughter--
this is the future

we are saving
for you, daughter--
to replace Nagasaki
& Dresden

with Al Amarah,
Al Kut, Al Hillah.