They have the heads
of sharp-billed birds of prey,
stories of rising from death
in the river after being
brutally disassembled.  Fragments
and hieroglyphic etchings
spell their stately narrative.
One must wonder if they tired
of men and women putting on conical
hats, assuming their roles and gestures,
laying brick upon brick to form
monuments to themselves.

[JD DeHart is the author of The Truth About Snails, a chapbook.  His main blog isjddehart.blogspot.com and he is a staff writer for Verse-Virtual.]