final blow

once a cat that was living
with us got run over in the driveway
we got out of the car
it was twitching and its blood
leaked out its nostrils
like smoke. you used a shovel
to finished it off then took the same
shovel and buried it in the backyard.

once i was living in a village
on the edge of mountain. the rains
came, and the cane grew. reeds ran
alongside the riverbanks. i wove
the best baskets in the village. even the chief's
wife asked me how i made the weave
so tight, water stayed in overnight. one
day strange beings came dressed in metal
carrying knives of metal, looking
for metal. i'd heard of these beings--
stories around the fire at night
warnings to keep out of sight because
they'd enslaved far away villages. made
them wear metal around their necks
metal around their wrists and legs, cut
out their tongues
so prayers could not be spoken.
when they began to threaten us
saying where is this metal
where is this metal, i knew
they would never have enough. i threw
my baskets in the fire. soledad threw
the corn in the fire. the whole
village took the burning stalks
and set the straw around our houses
on fire. set our houses on fire.
oh this was madness, horses rising
into the air like smoke, hooves
pounding into the ground, an earthquake.
they tried to put shackles on us
but we lay in the fires and those
that didn't burn bared our necks
for the fall of the blade
with our tongues still in our heads
and spoke to the gods, hey, listen
i'll be seeing you soon. did you get
the baskets?

once i had a love that couldn't
we were always at odds, the gods
loved the sparks that fly between us
they used them to light the candles
on the tables where they feasted.
we got tired of that, he and i.
so tired i was barely able to move
and he was barely able to lift the hammer
but it came down and we managed
to be in the way of it. in sync, at last.