Nebulous shadows of dawn
Little different from the preceding dusk
The day before
Heat and hope wandered away
Without caring, these last few hours
Why did I not fade along with the night
To relieve the endless, remorseless torture
In the irretrievable ruins of humanity
Wild dogs would be more merciful
Than wild depraved fortune hunters of this war
At best, no food, no water, no violence
At worst, no food, no water, no shade
But favors given to allow my child to survive
In the perpetual penumbra between breath and death
Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA, July 2018
