The body applies order.
Count the tiles so your
Mother doesn’t die.
Vultures ate our lands but couldn’t fly.
Kneel, said the father
Say their names nine times, then yours,
Benedictions of the broken Mexicans.
At church, the robed purified with ashes from your home.
Took a razor and shaved your
Face to be your father’s
As blood dripped down the toilet seat
Blessed, like the water the priest drowned you in.
Cupped her breasts. Bound your chest
With silk strings of a wedding dress.
The bellies danced to the rhythms
of their hunger. Prayed, ate the beads.
Photo by Michael Heuss on Unsplash
