(no subject)

[katherine_carla]

Thick walls spiked with broken glass
fortress the urban enclave.
Inside: a fig tree, papyrus, macaws.
The lavish garden is tended
to like a favored grandchild.
Sturdy nineteenth century cedar
benches flank the inner halls.

From the cobblestone street:
a barefoot woman balances a basket
on her head, an eight-year-old carries
her infant sibling in a sling, a bent man
shoulders a cart meant for a mule.
The afternoon torrents cleanse
nothing, the muddy rivulets
arise each day dusty and worn.


Edit #1

Thick walls spiked with glass
fortress an urban enclave.
Inside: a fig tree, papyrus, macaws.
The garden is tended
like a favored grandchild.
Cedar benches flank the inner halls.

From the cobblestones: a barefoot woman
balances a basket, an eight-year-old carries
her baby sister in a sling, a bent man
shoulders a cart meant for a mule.
The afternoon torrents cleanse
nothing. The streets, now muddy rivulets,
emerge each day dusty and worn.