SI SE PUEDE
When I take my morning walk now,
I am Pancho Villa. I am Che Guevara.
I am an outlaw in a mask and dark glasses.
I am starting a revolution.
Power to the peonies!
¡Vivas to the violets!
We would rather die on our knees,
sniffing at a flower,
than live, standing in line,
waiting for toilet paper to arrive.
Quivering, I throw my heart out,
six feet in every direction.
All that creeps, crawls, slithers,
or flies, I love.
I lower my mask.
I fling wide my arms.
I kiss death full on the mouth.
—from Poets Respond
May 2, 2020
__________
José A. Alcántara: “As the lockdown continues, I continue to venture out, wearing my mask. When, looking in a mirror, I tie my bandana around my neck, I see how my look looks like a look most people wouldn’t like. And so, as is required, I embrace that which I previously avoided.”
