Sister Mask

Green laced with shadow lines
you seem to peer back
lips edged to a smile, eyes closed

green steady still
enough is yours, quiet nostrils
wait easily, lips ready to speak

moss-stained locks over your brows
fat corn rows stretching away
to square garden plots

when it rains
the stain of humus on your cheek
washes down to rivers unseen

when it burns
as with a goodbye sun
you hover like water, still considering

the fate of peace
the anatomy of serenity
the folly of action