Mothers are dressing their children in bulletproof vests
to go to school, and the ceiling’s on the floor.
The air has turned yellow, and my friend has to have a faucet
put in her stomach. The hinges between the ghost world and
the mortal one are cracking open.
Grey men in white suits play chess in the desert sand
with the hairless bodies of young women and men,
and decide they’ll use their blood to run our cars—
it will be more honest. They’ll sell real guns in toy stores.
—From Making of a Matriot, Red Hen Press (2003); reprinted here
by author’s permission
Photograph by
Tey Roberts
|
is the author of five books: Making of a Matriot, Raising The Tents,
and three collaborative poetry-photography books and exhibitions shown in U.S. capitol
buildings.
Her current work-in-progress, Dare I Call You Cousin, about the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, is in collaboration with Israeli artists, photographer Michal Fattal and
videographer Yossi Yacov.
Adler, Professor Emerita and Founder of CSU Monterey Bay’s Creative Writing
and Social Action Program, lives in Portland, OR.