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3.

In between remedies

for breath and belly,

the physician wrote of a cure

for wounds that will not heal.

Do not cut or cauterize,

he warned, but take the sword

that caused the hurt

from your enemy's house

or hand, and bandage it.

In this time of plague,

I will bind the wounds

of my oppressor,

kiss his hands,

and be saved.

4. The Firstborn: a lullaby

In the evening, in the night time,

baby count the stars with me.

Count the birds and count the fishes,

count the ripples on the sea.

The vault of heaven stretches over

quiet banks and sandy dunes

and I will keep you from a darkness

nothing crosses but the moon.

You will sleep and I will hold you

while a shadow skates the sky

and you will see after it passes

that in this time of plague,

there is blood

on the mouth of the moon.