i think of marketa as hard as steel

i sometimes 

forget her heart is soft

i find her in tears   listening to sunhae im

sing a handel aria

we talked of home today   how she left

for new vistas

coming here during the obama years   when hope

was as wildly rampant as a spring garden

hoping that her music

would flourish   her inclinations 

blossom unfettered

it has come crashing down   you're missing home   

she nods   she shakes her head   through sparkly tears  

and stifled sobs   whispers   this is home

~

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