They moved in
far to the edge of things
Kept to themselves
Nobody heard the screams
The scratchings
on the safety glass
A neighbor saw the two girls once
Their shyness like a veil
A hijab of family secrets
Found dead in a Toyota sedan
Starved. Dehydrated
An apocalyptic vision gone awry
This small tragedy
unlike Fox News’ bitcoin
of new & distant fears
Unlike the CNN’s daily
pounding of duplicity
terror & crimes
There’s no switching
channels under Norwood’s
dark sky, even here
deep in the privilege
of small town Colorado
Only the silence of their cries
Editor’s Note: A woman acting as a “spiritual leader” to a small group of people living on a rural property outside Norwood, Colorado, ordered two girls kept in a car without food or water weeks before their bodies were found last fall. Madani Ceus faces murder charges in San Miguel County along with Nashika Bramble, the girls’ mother, for the death of 10-year-old Makayla Roberts and 8-year-old Hannah Marshall. Three other adults also face charges of fatal child abuse.
