[ruins library]
By Myung Mi Kim
where the route of a ship bringing tax grain from the provinces is described
where perceived hindering—say, birds congregating on a runway
where the first request was for fertilizer and seeds
where the instruction—harness these to the benefit of your society
where the conscription continued
where boards of revenue
where basically, everyone had a plant job
where preventable diseases rampant
where the need is window screens and sewer covers
where for the good of the very few and the suffering of a great many
Copyright Credit: Myung Mi Kim, "’[ruins library]’" from Penury. Copyright © 2009 by Myung Mi Kim. Reprinted by permission of Omnidawn Publishing.
Source: Penury (Omnidawn Publishing, 2009)