THE EVOLVING CITY Kimberly L. Becker   PRO PATRIA Memorial Day And workers Unfurl Tyvek House Wrap They ascend ladders And tack the wrap up Until the house is wrapped Like a Christo project Instead of a cook-out They cook in long pants and work boots The sun gilds their labors Remember, O Country, Those who have fallen From ladders in service of others Those whose sacrifice goes unsaluted Those unknowns entombed in the dream Miles as they are From Arlington Kimberly L. Becker’s poems appear in 2River, Borderlands, Ghoti Magazine, and Umbrella, as well as in Letters to the World, an anthology of contemporary women’s poetry (Red Hen Press). She has held a state fellowship in fiction (NJ) and her short fiction has appeared in Parting Gifts. She holds degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill (BA in English with highest honors in creative writing, MA in German) and Virginia Theological Seminary (MDiv). A Southerner of European and Cherokee descent, she has lived in the Washington metro area for the last ten years.   Published in Volume 8, Number 4, Fall 2007.