It begins as fragments 

in shifting landscapes

in an abyss of aggression

  

a tire dragged behind a truck 

across sand from the Pacific to the Gulf

of Mexico to track migrant footsteps

a bicycle crushed by Border Patrol 

in the Tijuana River Valley

a child’s blue tennis shoe 

in dirt-cracked earth of Hidalgo County, Texas

a black plastic water jug in Ajo, Arizona

a metal Border Patrol flashlight

an inner tube to cross the Rio Grande

an aluminum ladder to scale the wall

in this long moment of human urgency

art shows up to challenge 

resist and transform fragments

from a border that will always fail

art creates new music

new stories 

new instruments

the zapatello – a drum from the drag-tire

the sirvientes y escaleras – a string instrument from the ladder

the teclata – a keyboard crafted from rusted tuna cans

the listo – from a smashed bicycle wheel

the tonk – a plastic trumpet from the flashlight

a symphony of the missing

who may or may not still live

in the face of division and violence

Art shows up as Grace

Grace as Art