Poetry

Reuters photo

By

Alejandro Escudé

Prey(er)

Walk down any old alley, the kind that invites history

and recite the key lines from the President’s latest rally.

But say them, in a whisper. Listen as the wind 

takes each summation in its claws. 

There’s nothing but a dry moth in each of those words. 

As if each word were a cocoon of death.

That’s what a wall is, a long facsimile of the end,

an end with no end in sight. A mirror that won’t reflect.

Press your thumb against your index finger with both hands

bring your hands together then space them out.

That space is liberal. The silence that broke America’s back.

That’s Wounded Knee. That’s Charlottesville.

Alejandro Escudé

Alejandro Escudé’s first book of poems, My Earthbound Eye, was published in September 2013. He holds a master’s degree in creative writing from UC Davis and teaches English. Originally from Argentina, Alejandro lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.