Dorsía Smith Silva
Requiem
my son asks for a baby brother for Christmas / so
easily / like going to the drive-through / to get some
ubiquitous made-to-order meal / Big Mac with extra
cheese / onions and lettuce / what does he know / about the
parade of prayers / shoehorned hormone shots / straitjacketed
waiting / then nothing / but wind-blown ebbed echoes
of please Jesus / hear me Jesus / sweet baby Jesus / another round
of stolen surrender / then another / more blood enjambed / scything in
rogue repair / someone / tell me the price of admission / when there is no seat
at the table
Originally published in MER 19
Dorsía Smith Silva is a Professor of English at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. Her poetry has been published in several journals and magazines in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, including Portland Review, Stoneboat, Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice, Moko Magazine, and elsewhere. She is also the editor of Latina/Chicana Mothering and the co-editor of six books.