INHUMANITY
It is morning, Juan wakes up first, always,
His window displays forests and mountains,
But most of all beautiful Guatemalan harmony: colors and sounds.
Sadness overtook him at once,
Maria, Maria !
He called as he turned his sight to his wife…
His Maria continued to sleep,
And Juan retold the whole story again,
To Maria, inside his mind,
“The North” is our final destination,
There is no longer bread, water, or air,
No future under the boot of the Oppressor.
They walked to the Mexican river to cross,
“El Camino “ to follow is so long and cruel,
Both afraid of darkness and pain,
Yet hopeful under the stars above.
But once there, even water turned into ice…
My husband, said Maria to Juan,
This land is full of shadows not brothers,
When do we reach “La Bestia” ?
Juan ignored her pleas for an answer,
He trembled with the thought of Maria and “The Beast”.
Juan and Maria felt a rush of warm air,
On both of their faces and chests,
As they rode atop “The Beast”.
But Juan older than Maria,
Could sense the smell of suffering and pain,
Inside the Belly of “The Beast “.
He could hear as a whisper,
The cries of the mutilated,
Along the steel rails of pain: “Misericordia !”.
Maria was first to set foot on the ground.
We are now so near she thought,
To freedom and joy, close to the prosperous North.
But Juan knew better,
“The Beast” never wishes to loosen its grip,
Are they not of my own kind, he thought,
The ones who seem to pursue us ?
They first came looking for Juan,
But he refused to give Maria away,
Are you not cousins of mine ? He asked.
He could only feel the intense heat,
Of the bullet thrown from the gun,
Inside his Chest close to Heart.
Narcos, Police corruption, does it matter ?
“Ask the Gringos up North,
The Why”, he was told.
Juan could only pray a few moments:
“Dios, Dios,
Cuando acabaras Tu,
Con el asesinato de Abel, Tu hijo,
Porque el triunfo de Cain siempre ?
Maria was suffering,
The pain caused her to drift between the dreams and the real,
She knew the assassins had taken her across Mexican land,
Into the North she had hoped to see….
Maria, Maria, My daughter,
It is I.
“Dios mio, me has abandonado !”
“Madre de Dios, donde estas? “
Daughter, where are you ?
Her dreaming showed her a sign up on a hill,
“Hollywood”, its neon lights spelled.
My Lord,
They have turned me into a slave
They have made me into a whore….
Maria was forced to awaken,
She thought she heard The Word:
“Maria, this is your Lord God,
Blessed are Thee who suffers in My Name”.
And she felt the pain of the needle,
Deep inside her veins, and She hurt no more, ever again.