Taxonomy of the Border II
by Erin Murphy
TAXONOMY OF THE BORDER II
by Erin Murphy
They took the shoes from the children,
gnawed off gummy soles with knives
like whittlers on the porch of a shotgun
house. They slipped laces from the throats
of sneakers and boots, then handed back husks
of canvas and rubber as if to say Only we have
the power, the power to make a noose.