If Barbie Chang is more still than water
what will happen to her
tumors will they still grow in her if she
is still what happens
to her daughters what has she taught
them if the women in
the Circle mistaken her for a tree that
grows unnoticed their
children will ignore her daughters who
become shrubs
if she hates the Circle they will wait
by the shrubs
and use them as shade she used to
walk away walkways
everywhere away from the center she
knew she could never
outrun an avalanche the rule is to run to
the side now Barbie
Chang must send herself into the middle
no matter how dull the
middle is no matter how full the middle
is bloated with pretty
bloated with nothing witty once one
of the Circle told
Barbie Chang a birthday party for a
Lebanese girl
was definitely drop off only after the
earthquake someone
drops off white snow on the mountain
telling the climbers to
stop ascending to stop attempting
but no one ever
listens to the voice because we have
no choice we are
always proving our worth yelling
something in a tin
can to see if anyone answers the phone
in every photo parents
always look for their own children first
only a third of us even
know about the climbers under the
snow without shadows