"Ghazal" by Danny Rivera

Ghazal 



Let us remember what was once considered impossible: they told us
to shut our mouths because we were simply orphans crossing the desert.

Lying under a government-issued blanket, I dreamt that your breathing 
 reverberated like small-arms fire, or a series of flares crossing the desert.

There are no echoes here, only the words praise music and crave, because language neglects its own shape and majesty when crossing the desert.

Against the wall, we recreate our silhouettes with cloth and string, form
 the effigies that will replace us: mirror images of pilgrims crossing the desert.

Leading a trail ahead of the uniformed men, you briefly smelled of the earth, the leaf of your wet skin a warning to others against crossing the desert.

To keep your memory alive, I mimic the song of the wind across our faces. by running headlong toward the gates, as if a brush wolf crossing the desert.



You christened me Daniel — he who is judged by God — but will your Savior
 question or smite me — strafe the earth, extinguish His own son crossing the desert?

danny rivera

Danny Rivera received an MFA degree in Creative Writing from City College of New York, and his writing has appeared, or is forthcoming in, Washington Square Review, Epiphany, Midway, and other journals

Headshot: Danny Rivera.

Photo Credit: Staff