fleeing the smoke,
the phoenix looks for new embers,
where she can be reborn.
emerging from the flames,
she raises two chicks,
straddling Pompeii's plain and Eden.

Vesuvius erupts again,
chaos, violence, unrest.
40 million in pain,
covered by the mud of corruption and insensitivity.
she looks back at her home,
and recognizes the cycle.

this slimy beast of war,
feeding on blood and tears,
on anger and sorrow,
grows fatter and fatter with each rubber bullet,
each canister of gas and molotov cocktail.
born from a leaf of coca,
it feasts on the bodies,
of children and adults alike.

and as she flies over the land,
the phoenix calls for the rain to vanquish the beast for good.