Stumbling on the boulevard, he discovered
a desert covered the entirety of his city
the phantom sands spread thickest
over that which he loved

Peek through the apartment window over there
And you’ll see a man and woman staring at one another
their islands barricaded by a long, mahogany table
their countenance too icy to mistake for love

Streams of ignorant men roam the streets
each nomad chasing a siren of his own making
and as those in Cocytus they may never glance above
at the stars who might guide them to their own

She had fled from the gnawing embrace of hunger
Veiling herself with the ashes and putrid labor
of an ungrateful city that left her alone to weep
as poverty crept coyly into her bed again

He woke up drenched in the weight of his fear
and tossed off the dirty burial cloths that cocooned him
he found no need for a metamorphosis by morning
duly prepared- dressed as he wished to be found

Once, their eyes had beheld the other tenderly
hearts unmarked by the tendrils of the dollar
Consider how coffee, laces and a sidewalk
could lead the languid into love

See the horrid speed of the chisel to stone
With which man fashions his most fatal gods
Whom bring him fire in place of offerings
and whom usurp his tomb in time of sleep

Deep into the tarp of the unquenchable stars,
she directed her thirsty, midnight gaze.
And there she saw an oasis from the dark because
Tomorrow, she would scavenge for manna again

# # #

Jude Okonkwo has published work in Euonia and After the Pause. He is a student of English and Chemistry and Harvard Univeristy. He is also on the staff of the Harvard Review and an Editor of the Harvard Tuesday Magazine.

Photo: KEVIN CLYDE BERBANO