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Shimmering
by
James Odden

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

she glows
soft skin
tingles
hands
cup box
gold paper
and bow
waited months
for what's inside
diamond earrings
cut
from rough

the banks of hell
in Sierra Leone

young child
seven,
maybe eight,
skin stretched
tight over bone
left hand
severed
statement
to the village
about control

lured to the trade
by promise of tape radio
earned nothing
for months
until gnarled fingers,
scraping through sand and slate,
found promise
in a gift
~
she opens the box
smiles wide
washed clean