strategic

By Sheila Maldonado
I’m from the
              monitor in
    the middle of
              the Americas
I am a monitor
              in the middle
    of the Americas
I monitor the
              Americas
    screen American
a scream
    through a
             screen
      I see
          unseen
I’m seen
      obscene
             a scene
I am a screen
              on a seam
                  a fault
                a flaw
        fluid
              fixed
followed
   forgotten
     forgetting
fall
    in the
             fault
I’m the monitor
     the monster
             the scream

Notes:

This poem is part of the portfolio “The Chorus These Poets Create: Twenty Years of Letras Latinas.” You can read the rest of the portfolio in the December 2024 issue.

Source: Poetry (December 2024)