White Dove

The dove cooed happily in his slipper.

He fetched her and danced

His last dance, with a dove on his head.

His friends laughed, this is better than a circus.

The garage was full of the bird’s shit. 

They say a white dove brings ruin. 

An hour later the boy lay dying.

A boy dancing with a dove,

Fishing in a mountain lake,

Images, images of wings

Brilliant against the sun of a father’s heart 

Choking with the tears of his absence.

His last dance with a dove

Was the passing of an angel

Who flew in and out of the life

Of the father who waited to know him.

The dove bled against the cage
 

“Take it away, take it”.

They took it to the graveyard
 

And let it fly.

There was a strong smell of flowers as an angel flew Bursting with light and the fragility of blossoms.

Santiago 1991