'The Consecration Of Coffee'

 to Archbishop Oscar A. Romero

One day of god
drinking coffee in my patio
nothing is normal--
    not the calla
    with its penis of gold
    nor the iris
    like purple lava
    a volcano spills.
I find in the depths of the cup
chasubles embroidered
with black moths
& red stains--
    the sun fires
    a scintillation of silver bullets
    & of candles drowned--
        there is blood in its shine.
I place the cup on its saucer
with a most tender care
as if it were a chalice
& say the litany:
        Guatemala
        Nicaragua
        El Salvador
& one side of my heart
tastes white & sweet
like cane sugar
    & the other,
        like coffee,
            bitter & black.


	-- Rafael Jesús González