Poem: 'Los Lobos, la Luna y un Osito'

 by Oscar M




In memoriam Kyle Velasquez


Surreptitious was the knock at the door

In the middle of the night.

Bloodthirsty hounds bay at the moon

Begging for the unknown.

The memorials that precede.

Unjust so readjust said the Senate,

As I’m sure they did after Caesar fell.

La Luna shines bright by midnight

Y los lobos se acercan para comer.

Unclear was the word, now shredding

Flesh like lettuce for side-salad.


They cross themselves as the minister

Passes, even the Evangelicals;

We watch as day fades into night,

The first day.


Twelve now, not seven.

He wears the same suit each time.

She doesn’t cry once.

They shuffle up next

To one another and whisper

Can I sit next to you?

All thirteen times. They

Appear as dos cebras, lavándose

En un abrevadero de lastimas.

New stripes darken with time,

Eliciting whispers of sympathy.


Un osito,

Who planned to enlist after

High school, robbed by

Los lobos. His life replaced

By flags. 


Mejicano-Americano.

Un cuento esperando a contarse

Once, an institution; now, the

Reason for the thirteen days of 

Apocalypse, all starting with

Nuestro osito. 


Now, they rest,

Under the sun,


Y para él, debajo de la Luna


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