wrote my congressperson

spell the name of the possible war crime twice
Dasht-e-Leili Dasht-e-Leili
like the names of leading hutu genocidaires
the horror of mass murder keeps me from memorizing
i seek no mnemonic device

how about 'my hopes were Dasht'?
is 'e-Leili' the prayer of the suffocated?

the tiv of nigeria taught me
a poet is a conscience of the lineage