Prayer by Francisco X. Alarcón
Prayer
Francisco X. AlarcónI want a god
as my accomplice
who spends nights
in houses
of ill repute
and gets up late
on Saturdaysa god
who whistles
through the streets
and trembles
before the lips
of his lovera god
who waits in line
at the entrance
of movie houses
and likes to drink
café au laita god
who spits
blood from
tuberculosis and
doesn’t even have
enough for bus farea god
knocked
unconscious
by the billy club
of a policeman
at a demonstrationa god
who pisses
out of fear
before the flaring
electrodes
of torturea god
who hurts
to the last
bone and
bites the air
in paina jobless god
a striking god
a hungry god
a fugitive god
an exiled god
an enraged goda god
who longs
from jail
for a change
in the order
of thingsI want a
more godlike
god
MARGINALIA
Once in a while, a poem like this needs to be here.
ABOUT FRANCISCO X. ALARCóN
A prolific writer for adults and children, Francisco X. Alarcón was born in California and grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. Alarcón returned to the United States to attend California State University at Long Beach, and he earned his MA from Stanford University. His collections of poetry for adults include Body in Flames/Cuerpo en llamas (1990); De amor oscuro/Of Dark Love (1991); Snake Poems: An Aztec Invocation (1992), winner of the American Book Award from the Before… (more)
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ENDNOTES
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