When the Almond Bean...Letter to Dean Brackley, S.J.

WHEN THE ALMOND BEAN BLOSSOMS:

LETTER TO DEAN BRACKLEY, S.J.

Llora por cosas lejanas

            Garcia Lorca

This is the spirit of earth, Dean,

you, the fierce part of the light. Duende is a power,

not a work, as Lorca says. My sister watches my brother

in a hospital bed, saying, Every brother

needs an advocate. Ventanitas de oro, tiemblan,

Little windows of gold, trembling.

You’re the pacamara cherry

I tuck between my lips, shade-grown,

native, on the volcán. When crossed

with one called from the Bronx,

it’s a prophet’s brew, making next steps concrete.

You are the voice in my mochila.

Waking in skies over the ocean

among the television screens, the stewardess

looks for the person who lost her socks.

Are these your socks?

Are these your socks?

Lorca rises from the page, ¿Que dicen?

What are they saying? I know roads, too,

but I’ll never get to Cordoba. My mother’s voice,

also fierce, repeats itself, You don’t have to go

to El Salvador to find God. OK--

but I need Dean’s language of solidarity

for flesh and bone. El Espíritu trabaja

para la libertad…Ignacio propone

tres juegos de pasos…in your voice

huerfanos no existe, agua corre en cada casa.

Mary brought me to you.

The night street March with Gene Palumbo

a new testament for Jayaque. Your barrio—

and everyone needs one—esta búsqueda

nunca tan lejos desde nuestros ojos.

Your voice, it will be speaking forever.

You shall be speaking forever.

You have nothing to do with cancer.

You rise from the earth in Santa Tecla.

When the almond bean blossoms,

Sister Teresa’s walking life

up and down the Extremadura with John,

is over. Sister Bernadette at Divina Providencia

says its time. March 28 is always a good day.

Receiving the bullet,

is the language of the call.

Your bullet, Dean, is love,

and everything surrounding it.

Your love corrals us all,

all that is unfinished. God knows

it doesn’t look good, but we’re singing.

El padre Dean, diario personal,

y otros escritos, edited by Jon Sobrino—

your photo, your hand writing, all the photos,

your back-and-forth in English and Spanish.

Dios protagonista en la oración en la cubierta.

Before the microphone en la capilla at UCA.

Common house of the poor. Casa Común.

Love construction. Your words. Cement.

Hecho de chispa. Your laughter exploding.

Allí empezó a comprender la pobreza

structural y la repression del estado.

God’s word in your mouth, our work now.

Abrazos,

Jim Bodeen

13 enero 2015—23 enero 2015

Yakima—Santa Ana—Yakima