Viven al Amparo de la Noche

IF I COULD BE YOUR MUSE

and protection. Están bajo mi amparo—

They are under my protection. Dictionary work

of accompaniment. Once in a poem,

John Berger wrote, crossing battlefields,

that poems bring peace,

placing language beyond time’s reach.

Refugio. Shelter. Les dió amparo

contra sus perseguidores. She sheltered/

gave them, refuge from their pursuers.

Oscar Peterson on piano. Poet in dentist chair.

In law, recurso de amparo.

Today’s joke: al amparo de la nueva ley.

Old school charity on its heels.

Viven al amparo de la noche—under the cover of night

where the poem takes us in.

Jim Bodeen

25 January 2017