Above ground
between
the wheel ruts
one dead mole,
dark as the earth
it turns to,
fur soft
as ash,
against the gray
basalt –
others claw
below ground.

Römhild Work Education Camp, 1944Irena Praitis is the author of six books, most recently One Woman’s Life (Diversion Press, 2010), Straws and Shadows (Moon Tide Press, 2012), and The Last Stone in the Circle (Red Mountain Press, forthcoming 2016). She is a professor of literature and creative writing at Cal State Fullerton.