Untitled Document

Sisters
Ivy Alvarez

I measure the distance
between where I stand
and where she lies.
I remember gravity.
The words mouthed aloud:
ashes, dust.
Every tear I taste on my tongue
salts grief.
I think of warm lips
on a cold cheek.
Flesh into bone.
I doubt and finger
her bullet-holes—
obscene mouths
that speak for her.

Ivy Alvarez's book, Mortal , is forthcoming from Red Morning Press (US) in 2006. Her poetry appears in journals and anthologies in Australia , Canada , England , the Philippines , Republic of Ireland , Scotland , USA , Wales , and online.