7/31/2019 3. the Kite Fliers

1/8

Samantha Morse

THE KITE FLIERS

7/31/2019 3. the Kite Fliers

2/8

Samantha Morse

She turns her face to the sun, that tiny creature

with a dress of summer and wig of flowers. A

burst of vivacity against the black shells, the

snaking wire, the useless gate. She has not yetlearned that it is safer to blend into the shadows

than to cast one behind her.

7/31/2019 3. the Kite Fliers

3/8

Samantha Morse

Childhood? With carnivals and bright colors?

Silly, those dreams were shattered long ago.Guns and masks and camo-print...

That is our childhood.

Were just playing make-believe right now.

7/31/2019 3. the Kite Fliers

4/8

Samantha Morse

Hes serious just like Daddy told him he should be.

Serious just like his brother was. So the little man

stands in resilience with a Sharpie-drawn heart in the

wrong cavity. And the buildings keep creeping closer.

7/31/2019 3. the Kite Fliers

5/8

Samantha Morse

If it werent for the gas they wouldnt cry.

Their eyes have forgotten how.

7/31/2019 3. the Kite Fliers

6/8

Samantha Morse

Hide! Theyre coming!

How can those little legs carry him

away so quickly?Will he find a mommy to hold him?

A daddy to protect him?

Or will he have to hide in some

decapitated building all alone?

7/31/2019 3. the Kite Fliers

7/8

Samantha Morse

Arched in agony with an unknown wound oozing crimson. Stooped

out of breath from sprinting the last few blocks, escaping a

bloodthirsty pursuer. Crooked in despair for the fate of the person

who was behind him.

Or maybe hes just thinking.

We can never tell.

7/31/2019 3. the Kite Fliers

8/8

Samantha Morse

We wear the mask that grins and lies,It hides our

cheeks and shades our eyes1

The macabre clown in the circus of Occupation.

1From Paul Laurence Dunbars We Wear the Mask