Cicada Shema

(Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is 1)

What’s the buzz Israel –
17 years already?
Cicadas sear dusk’s edges 
as swollen ground spits gen x’rs 
who split skin 
rouse us from rem 
with ancient rhythms of merging-birthing-dying
droning out what’s left of the day
 
A million wings clap at irregular intervals 
until I can’t hear myself think, O Israel, 
Blades of grass groan
under the weight of abandoned bodies crunching underfoot,
heightening the religiosity of love/death songs
and the instant choir who whine as one.

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