Guatemala, 1989
there was a garden where my prayers
ripened on a pergola
there was a windowless cell where three
centurions raped me
& ground out their cigarettes on my skin
there was a pit filled with rotting corpses
where they threw me because
I begged for death
there was a urine-soaked mausoleum where
a woman fashioned me a smile out of
the last frayed tendrils of her strength
there was a hospital x-ray room
where I had to strip naked once more
for a thorough examination
there was only a fist-sized clot of blood
where my heart used to knock
so gently
for admittance