A call to pray for Aaron who is brittle with his bitterness after seeing his buddy turn
into a bursting chandelier in a desert darker than thought. Next: a friend who hides needles
in his glasses case. Why, it’s emptiness, that old flood without an ark to thumb down. Karma
isn’t a Christian bandage, Carlos. Next, next and then the next call. All these lonely men in the air
tonight, shepherds seeking lost gods. Homeboys far from home are condemned to be eternal adults.
Rane Arroyo is the author of four books of poetry, the most recent being Home Movies of Narcissus (University of Arizona Press). He has won many awards and published extensively within the United States and beyond. He is currently working on a long poem about Roswell, New Mexico.
