as rods of soldered iron.
   She watched the primitive
      shul collapse — first walls caught
fire, and then doorways,

at last the roof. She yearned
   for castoff things: a sieve,
      a spoon, a favorite teapot,
a porcelain platter glazed

like melted glass. Return
   was an imperative
      and salt the afterthought
of tears. She stood in haze,

her body almost burning.
   This is what ruin gives
      its witnesses — eyes hot
from standing near the blaze.