Gone—but not like others, gone to God in mud and gas, left forever on the front. Men march on Main, crutches and chairs, sleeves pinned short—all handsome, victorious. But the terror in their eyes—there, I see you, sky blue the shrapnel somehow spared. In dreams, I comb trenches, find your nose and jaw intact; I comb this country, find what’s left of your face, press palms to gaping cheeks, tell you to come home, come back, my brother, you were spared.

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KATE FINEGAN wrote “Broken Gargoyle” piece after seeing Kader Attia’s installation J’accuse at The Power Plant in Toronto. Her chapbook The Size of Texas is available from Penrose Press. She is Assistant Fiction Editor at Longleaf Review and is seeking representation for a historical novel. Find her at katefinegan.ink or twitter.com/kehfinegan.