PALMYRA

after Khaled al-Asaad

bonepole bonepole since you died

there’s been dying everywhere

do you see it slivered where you are

between a crown and a tongue      the question still

more god or less      I am all tangled

in the smoke you left      the swampy herbs

the paper crows      horror leans in and brings

its own light      this life so often inadequately

lit      your skin peels away      your bones soften

your rich unbecoming      a kind of apology

when you were alive your cheekbones

dropped shadows across your jaw      I saw a picture

I want to dive into that darkness      smell

the rosewater      the sand      irreplaceable

jewel how much of the map did you leave

unfinished      there were so many spiders

your mouth a moonless system

of caves filling with dust

the dust thickened to tar

your mouth opened and tar spilled out