Testing One by Holly Day

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Testing One

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After the fires died down, and the smoke blew away

the only thing left of the little lizards

and the spiders

a lone jackrabbit

and a burrow owl

were their shadows trapped in a plate of glass

an uneven windowpane of melted desert sand.

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If you could lift this glass out of the desert

cut it into tiles

find some use for it in your house

you could keep their trapped surprise with you always

some memory of a sunny day in the Nevada desert

populated by creatures unaware they were trespassing

on government property.

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