dress of flowers waiting to be picked.
towers steady in the tended soil,
barrels squat and steadfast against gravel.
sand and little knives. desert grass
and blunted spines. how long
will what we care for survive?

when someone dies of thirst in the desert
                                     we say the elements.
when someone is a scavenger’s mouthful
                                     we say remains.
when someone is killed by the government
                                     we say resisting. 

under the glass roof
rows of green swell with water.
winter light through the panes
on the saguaro’s upraised arms.
when it happens to you
what do you want us to say?

Cassandra de Alba’s work has appeared in Big Lucks, Gabby, Smoking Glue Gun, and Tinderbox, among other publications. Her chapbooks habitats (Horse Less Press, 2016) and ORB (Reality Hands, 2018) are about deer and the moon, respectively. She is a co-host at the Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge and an editor at Pizza Pi Press.