In the Shape of a Heart

by David Izu

Hear-shaped pin made from Topaz shells
Shell pin created circa 1942-1945, Topaz Concentration Camp. Photo by David Izu.
Internal refugees 
were imprisoned on a lake bed 
from where the waters had fled
leaving mollusks low and dry 
entombed under blankets of dirt 
 
An imprisoned one above 
excavated bitty shells below 
arranged the containers of emptiness 
into the shape of a heart 
backed by a needle 
a pin to bridge a pair of lives in abeyance 
 
Two to float better than one 
when this parched blight ends 
waters are found and we begin again 
refugees no more

About the contributor: David Izu is a San Francisco Bay Area-based artist. His mother was incarcerated at Poston, AZ; his father escaped imprisonment in a family caravan to Utah, where he was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army in Europe. Dave has taught at Stanford, UC Berkeley, the SF Art Institute and the California College of the Arts. His work is in the permanent collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as well as other institutions.

Copyright 2019, David Izu. All rights reserved.

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