Twenty Years of “Nobility of Blood”

Twenty Years of “Nobility of Blood”

sobre todo perdona a la mayoría moral, intachable y serena

que aún ignora la dulce cortadura de tu espada de carne….

                                                                        Jose Manuel Otero 1948-1990

Dear Lord, this Thanksgiving

all the drug-lords promise

to thank you for AIDS, although

it has not made them transcend

into the 21st century. They are

still caught up in superficial

things like politics, and busting,

or killing corrupt cops. We thank you

for tent evangelists, brothers and sisters

alike, breeders of hate crimes

that reject the perfect beauty

of botany almanacs, homemade

remedies, and blood transfusions.

Lord, forgive my arrogance

toward the medical community

and appoint faith healers

to pharmaceuticals.  Dear God,

I’ve been patient, showing up alone

at ERs and not suing.  Thank you

for allowing me to live on the

periphery of society where nobody asks 

yet everybody tells.  Did we merit

your colossal tedium? Thank you

for the innocent illusion of my open

exhibitions of affection toward Omar.

Thank you for the rapid spread

of AIDS in Africa, where water, food,

and medical supplies have always

been scarce or costly, where rape

and violence toward women

are beyond control, where children

have no choice but to fight for

dexterous warlords, where life

and death no longer belong to You. 

Somalia, have you learned to die?