Cinco de Maya
The Greek Theater
In Berkeley
Gets full like a bowl
Mexican-Central American
Caribbean Latinos
Bubbling like fruits
Within the rainbow blanket
Of colors
Corn maidens
Barley princesses
Chocolate sense and desire,
Rye toast
Sugar cane and plantain
Mountain sculpture
Wave spring bushes
In front of Zeus-Apollo,
As the singers invoke
The indigenous Gods
Singer sonero.
Caribbean substrata Yoruba
Yemayá-Shango fire and water music,
Them are the lyrics present,
What’s come to be
From the mouth
The meter
Demeter measured in clave
Rhythm,
Plato’s rope
Lassos at the
Various personalidades
The eyes are gloves
The flowers the baseballs
Our rhythm park
La Voice filters
Shango sprayers
The air
Plumed serpent
Circles this
Egg shaped zero
From which
Spring all motherfletchers,
Amphitheater
Musically Luis Perico Ortiz
The parrot trumpet solo
Massages encounter sereno
Of sleep
Oval pelota
Going towards
Infinite reoccurrence
Top head Sun /Sol
Hang on the journey-ride
Air ripples
Dance and touch
The hands helium of
Distance
Sweet contemplato,
Kaleidoscope from afar
Moisture incense
Syrup
Fruit bowl inside,
Plato knew the
Sun shone upon our pyramids,
The rays fallen here
This gorgeous theater
Of his people.
Theos-Calli:
Plumed Serpent.
From Guayacán (Ishmael Reed Publishing Company, 2023) by Victor Hernández Cruz. Copyright © 2023 by Victor Hernández Cruz. Used with the permission of the author.