borders are

1. invisible margins
2. like a necklace with a clasp too tight
3. traffic lights pulsating the color of blood
4. ruled the cause of death
5. quicksand that eat the enemy whole
6. uncertain who the enemy is
7. hours of absence turned years of absence turned decades of
8. absence
9. inefficient hands that strangle
10. rosary strings enfolding deserts
11. a lost and found
12. the spider veins of cascading waterways
13. ignored by birds and wind
14. trying to convince us we belong to someone
15. lines that cave in before they are fully drawn
16. small limbs reaching out, wishing they could carry us back home

by Ella Chakarian

Photo of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border by Kristin Cass