Flamingos in Atacama
In this absolute desert
everything turns to artifact:
Sitting crosslegged for 500 years,
a girl with long braided hair.
She wears a mask to ward off
evil spirits, holds a grub hoe
carved of llama jawbone.
Bony dogs skulk the streets
in San Pedro de Atacama.
Nearby, wrecked car skeletons
and flamingos asleep
in pooled mountain water.
Ice forms around their spindly legs
while they wait for a morning sun
that always comes to set them free.
published in Apple Valley Review, Spring 2007 applevalleyreview.com
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