like silver
snow has come
upon the minarets
and brickwork mosques;
the crystalline dust
transforms
the imperfections
of walls rebuilt
over centuries
by whims of khans
political committees
or warring zealots—
each one
overruled
in the end by
the arbitrary
judgments
of earthquakes
the great khan’s name
is now inscribed
democratically
next to the humble
artisan who served him
and the uneasy truce
between
the past and present
is provisionally sealed
by a stork’s nest
atop the tallest
minaret
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