We become
beasts of burden
like yaks or camels or
balding men carrying
ancient mothers
across the border,
bags overstuffed
with yearning
for the children—
our thoroughbreds—
fleet and strong
on the straightaway
forging forward,
nostrils numb
with acrid air,
heaving headlong
against the wind
at dizzying speed,
blindered,
weighing us down
with leaden love.