An iceberg melts as our bodies embrace.
Bombs shatter Syrian lives as we kiss.
Yemen’s million scream cholera’s disgrace
as we two whisper through night’s graceful bliss.
Coal smoke thickens China’s sky. You and I
breathe deep our air-conditioned night, passion
climaxing to calm. Shrapnel blinds an eye
in Afghanistan. We gaze at fashion
in the newest Vogue.
Drought strangles Delhi
and Sacramento as we sip seltzer
in crystal. The sad child’s swollen belly
in Caracas growls while helter skelter
she runs through the slum. You smile at me, share
your delicate dessert of wine-poached pears.
Roger Armbrust
July 28, 2018
