Sir Hugh Owen, Bird of Prey, 1851-1852
Salted Paper Print, 18.1 x 22.9 cm
Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program
in thick air cries of crows
ash smudging the scene
Szymborska says spring is dead
writers may no longer praise
what grows from the dirt-filled
mouths of the murdered
but the habit of hope is hard
to shake—children lacing fingers
with ours—the lit face of a girl
singing—few escape untouched
then time ripens and small voices
in cold rooms rise to no one
outside and crows stir