seven years ago

seven years ago the night was dark

so deep the edges of my garden 

were untamed portals of mystery

beyond the edge of reason

where awe or fear of the imagined takes hold

seven years ago the sky's spine tingled still

with its glorious glow

lighting up the heavens

with something more than sparkle

still today we get to inhale a little deeper

as the twinkle of stars and planets appear

just after sunset

seven years ago the night was so deep

so black the lloronas cry could be heard

down by the creek

while roaming coyotes howled

from the town's borders

and witches still appeared as orbs 

bouncing down the hills 

cerro del águila 

cerro de la santa cruz

where enchanted flames

rising out of the earth 

could still be seen appearing after twilight

on certain nights of the year

seven years ago a ghost might meet you on the road

one young girl was often spotted 

at the curve heading out of town

she was known to have been picked up by a taxi

and to have disappeared when reaching her destination

though an elder woman in the town made it clear as she diseappeared into the mist

"the only ghosts on these streets come from elsewhere"

seven years ago one step beyond town was wilderness

where the consciousness of alien beings

the rabbits the field mice the snakes the scorpions 

the nopales the palmas the mezquites

all overshadowed our own human realm

to venture into the darkness was to travel into the unknown

seven years ago you might wake to the bells of the sheep

as they ran through town headed to pasture

and eerie bleeting of goats like babies crying in the night

hushed you to sleep

in seven years noise and light have pushed back the mystery

pushed away the refuge of the unknown

sent the llorona packing

the coyotes and the alicantes into precarious hinterlands

seven years ago the nights were silent

so silent listening could find no end

unfathomable distance reached out

in all directions encountering the void

or the wellspring?

—Lorena