CHILD

Child of the ancestors,

Goddess, Gods,

queens and kings,

child of dreaming,

myth, wisdom,

pyramids, stone by

stone,

child of visionary

poet kings,

Sor Juana,

child of storytellers

and singers, Octavio

Paz, Rosario Castellanos,

child of perfect

beauty, Frida Kahlo, 

Diego Rivera, on the

500 peso bill,

child of Quetzalcoatl

and Xochiquetzal, la

madre Coatlique, 

great IxChel,

child of Sun and

Moon, every Star,

born to Earth/Sky,

child in tattered clothing,

worn, dirty shoes,

toes exposed, trying to

sell a useless

coupon,

the shiny, abundant

super market, the

blonde woman shakes

her head in disgust,

you beg, eyes

pleading,

hunger, comfort, bath,

clean clothes, some

safety, even love, a

hawk-eyed teen

watches you,

bullies you,

not to stop

begging, pleading,

your useless

coupon,

your brown

dirty hand, 

child of the ancestors, 

would the great poet

king, Nezahualcoyotl,

sing a poem to

you, child of 

despair and

hunger, filth,

your eyes still

shadowed with 

innocence.

                                                         

 Alma Luz Villanueva (c)

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

May 2014