return to South Sudan
before returning to his village
he found a bookstore
and bought a big pile of books
for twenty bucks
but when he brought them out
the line stretched
all the way to disappointment
determined to turn no one away
he did the only thinkable thing –
sliced each paperback in half
as the mothers collected
these split works
they cried with thanks
for the little boy they never thought
would walk back into their lives
and the faraway stories of hope
he brought in his own hands
