My doll is more than
a faceless log

I dress it up in a rag
made out of a torn-up flag

I rock it back and forth
cradling it in my arms

I throw it up and kick it
like a soccer ball

Don’t you love your doll?
the others ask

Yes yes
This is how we play


Wards of the state, we’re cared for
by all
and no one

Human-faced
like a Sirin bird
the state throws food down its children’s throats

We’re kept warm
by the shreds of flesh buried beneath
our strong clawed feet

To each according to her
need, from each according to her
talon, declares the slogan
...