el perico trans-pacífico.

do you ever find yourself
thinking of her
in the middle of the day?

sister of mercy
adrift in the world
her carapace around her
like a habit
following the liturgy of longitude
like the Stations of the Cross
the draw string of dream
gathering with each dive
a sea shadow
cradled in the arms
of the great Turtle Mother

the Virgin of Cobre guiding
through the dangerous sea
the black sand memory
of her natal beach
ringing her course
in peals of instinct

cartographer
explorer
world traveler
Adelita sleeps

a Shinto priestess
leads the way
a goddess path
from Mexico
to the arribada
on a distant
Kyushu shore

(en honor a Adelita.)