Shrines of War
Poem by Juan Carlos Diaz
My war laughed at me today
It told me not to feed it anymore
From the food grown in adolescent
Wastelands where shrines for
Teenage girls still stand erect
Even though they’re now thirty-
Something year-old mothers of little
Girls whose heartbreaking tendencies
Lay dormant on their smiling faces
Until awakened by the sound of thirteen chiming
On their clocks.
Soon to wage wars in the hearts of future men
That is why my war is laughing at me because I’m
Now too old to be holding it hostage
