A Thirsty Road (Macarthur Highway) Poem by Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

Every night
a whisper comes
and my heart beats
fast
faster than the hoofs
of galloping wild horses
on an old road
to the farm
of a medicine man
where leaves
are warmed by oils
and eggs stand
on their steepest end
like needles in protest

An old road paved
with jasmines
where lovers stroll
in the moonlight
and the angel of death
drink the blood
of wild horses crossing
and drunken men toasting
to life

the limbs of jasmines lay broken
flowers on their last breath
and the horses
and the trees shiver
for their fate

the road is hungry
it has eaten the sidewalk
as it was thirsty
it sucked the blood
of young children
and old women
just passing by