:
IN KOSOVO DAYS
Pearl. You crumble
and break into dust.
Leave your hidden oyster,
find shelter where you can
in places that struggle
to wrap you in tar.
Where can your shine
be discovered? Where
can your glow reveal
itself without fear
of rubble and ash?
Sit in your alleys
and bomb shelters,
your smoking hospitals
that continue to stand
among blasts. Flee
with refugees who
wander through fires.
Pearl. You are infinite.
Your dust settles
in days filled with blades,
in wounds without bandages.
Still we see your glow
and hunt you the way
we search for berries.
by Paul Belz
Copyright, Paul Belz, 1999.
