The more this land drinks blood,
the smaller the people get
The more people get smaller,
the more their memories get scaled down
Whittled down, all they recall now
are the steps taken away
The words not present,
the color of loss
Breathing and crying for they know not what.
A man gestures towards a necklace, a scapular, the end of a stethoscope
Perhaps this object will let him comprehend
The fist half closed in death
 that is bigger than himself
The eyes closed now, that opened themselves to the fading light

Corinna Nuqui

Corinna Nuqui has written essays, plays, and fiction which have won recognition, but she still thinks herself a poet first. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, United States.