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This poem is taken from PN Review 157, Volume 30 Number 5, May - June 2004.

House Without Pity Fanny Howe

1

Paper is twisted
in the thin green trees

It's daybreak

A furry cloud huddles
on the groundswell

Light bulbs yellow
and shrill bells ring

School time!


2

Lengthening attention
to the tar-black
roof

ends with the glitter
of mica and ice

Books won't help a child
get out of this
house without pity


3

White plaster
and desks turned over

Schoolteachers' faces
...


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