Our Lady of the Westside

   Mary of Woodland Apts. Of Hoodland Darkness. Mary Who Raises Her
Hand for Public Comment. Mary Who’s Told She’s Off-Topic. Mary of Ya
   No Puedo Vivir. Mary, Mother of the Deceased. Who First Conceived
the GoFundMe. Mary of Mortuaries. Of Casket-Compare. Of Unbrushed Hair.
Dios te salvia,
Maria, llena eres
de text messages,
Mi dolor es contigo,
blessed the shoots
of thy womb,
baby’s breath,
burnt glass,
wax begonias,
bleeding wax,
our condolence,
this folding table
of teddies & roses,
of boys sin bigotes,
all the bags of Cheetos
from La Tiendita Market,
Mary of Sunflowers
whose son’s a flower,
his name engraved
on a Frappuccino.
 
   Our altar, that art in EPA, hallow be thy pain, thy henny, thy Don Julio
will be poured in dirt as it is in 7-Eleven, give us this day our daily Takis,
   our westside, our good morning, our good night, our boy back, please, his
dreams, his age, 15, his name I pray, Inty, my God, you were hardly. A man.
Source: Poetry (December 2023)