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KAREN HIRAKAWA
 
  Andre and Isabel

A boy and his tiny sister
who has clear amber eyes,
unlike the boy whose
clear eyes are earthen brown;
this clarity is accentuated
by a gripping clamp of a knot
in the stomachs of these two
who play with dogs in the dust,
happily, as if they don't feel it.
And those who smile
pass with those who scowl.
They won't allow the consideration
of the maddening gnaw and churn
of acrid juices as they roll
clutching elbows and knees
that audibly click on themselves,
while under brown bellies
soft pink balloons continue
to grow taut and turn ashy colored.
Much like the dust they romp in
with those inexhaustible dogs.
The only things that are clear
about this boy and his sister
are those eyes; other than these,
they are blurred ideas of children,
but no less dear, no less lovely.
 



 

 
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