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Smiling Death Songs and Other Poems
iii.  when el viejo macehualle drank la llorona's milk 
      underneath the yutu tata ...

La guitarra floats above the clouds,
twisted fingers glide along its neck;
it blooms sorrow along the edges --
now, el acordion , a flower of grief,
blossoms and consumes the heart:

Tonight, I will wait on the westside 
of the railroad track,
on a strip of sand that stays cool
even under the Tejano Sun.
Tonight when Barbas de Oro puts on his sandals 
and races across the parched earth,
when the first star blinks into existence
and heaven unfurls its ancient drama,
I will wait.

Tonight when La Llorona haunts 
the children of the lake, 
when her wails shatter the moon 
into a million sacrificial canoes,
I will wait and eat with her,
I will dance with her,
I will kiss her dark nipples 
and drink her bitter milk.

Tonight when the distant whistle at Station #7 
drops daggers from the stars --
I will wait ... wait for Maria.
Wait with ofrendas: 
flowers and candles,
pan and chocolate; 
Lone Star and el acordion.
Underneath the Yutu Tata, 
with puckered lips I will wait --
wait with guitarra above the clouds,
blooming sorrow along the edges,
blossoming a flower of grief.

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