I come from

I come from a country where you can look 
at the sky and know what kinds of fish 
you'll find in the market

I come from a country where one 
blind man can lead another 
down the sidewalk, both 
of their canes tapping

I come from a country where old 
newspapers can be exchanged 
for compost, which helps the farmers 
grow their beans and cabbages 

I come from a country where hands 
are useful: they plant the rice,
they harvest rice, they pick up steamed 
mouthfuls though other hands fight 
over land and air and water

I come from a country where 
the words save and salvage 
can mean abduct and murder, 
and assassinations take 
the place of drive-by shootings

I come from a country where 
the light of fireflies along 
the length of an underground river 
is brighter than stars, but it is 
the same country of long lines, 
long waits, long marches that 
historically end with death