Abandoned

Abandoned

Abandoned

You have stared at the ground far too long
You know the tiniest crevices
And all the red and black ants that burrow
Tearing earth’s intestines for you to see
We catch you watching into space
And wonder what captures your mind
Engrossed, you can’t hear us

Where are you?  It seems you died
And buried yourself when father left
Buried us with him and forgot ever
To come sweep the graves now forgotten
Under the leaves of the muchakata
Your silence is a hot pot of seething, lethal oil
We are afraid.

We seek your embrace in troubled times
Yet you are more troubled than us
Can you come back, can we go back to yesterday?