there are so many mistakes to make
in a day they crowd together like beans
in a jar faces in the window of a train

my mistakes are refugees running
across borders into countries
where they can’t read the signs

my mistakes are roofs collapsing
under shelling windows exploding
my mistakes are bundles of dirty blankets

water that makes you sick
bridges of which only a thin strip remains
my mistakes are children screaming

for their mother my mistake is
i am their mother they are screaming
for me