Felez Año Nuevo

by Duncan McNaughton

Were you there the night the dogs barked in
Banja Luka? I was, with a one–armed
Irish nurse and her spinster sister that was
wanting an arm too. Odds we called them. The
mosques disappeared overnight. The mayor
explained their absence by denying they’d
ever been there in the first place. When the
long knives came out the hidden imam took
off for Galway where he is staying put
for now. Behind the Irish Curtain. SÌ,
hay muchos perros.

                              You’re right, some wee folk
come from Galway. I met those two where the
rabbits live. By the birdbath. One thing I
liked about them, they were quick to tell you,
and anyone else who should know better,
“You should know better!” They’ve had a lot of
practice. “Give them something to think about
rather than recognize,” they told me, “something
that’s here but hasn’t a name.”
                                                Can we get
some perspective on this? “Be still. Be quiet,”
they said. “Words can be lovers too.”