sinking-in
part two
ii. fall

by Holly Cian

The news is sad today. Many men have died:
a Vietnamese general, a historian of the Holocaust,
a pharmacist overseas. These are just three

among thousands across the world.

This evening I saw photos of scattered ash
and merry-go-rounds in a devastated Nairobi.

Melted jars cling to their shelves,
alien to bystanders;

sun filters through an absent ceiling.

Eight thousand miles away from
the setting of a photo, I return
to my window.

Even the darkness is breathing.

Holly Cian grew up in a small town in Lowcountry South Carolina before moving to North Carolina in 2012. She lives happily in Asheville with her boyfriend Stephan and their cat, Aeolus.

About sinking-in, part two, ii. fall—This poem attempts to shed light on our connection to suffering and sadness across the world.