They arrive in the autumn
for the Day of the Dead
three days of celebrations
the Purépecha tossing oranges
into the coffin of the grinning corpse
the burning of candles overnight
ofrendas hung with flowers
this year two more souls
Homero and Raul
will join the festivity
you will not pinpoint them
among the gauzy wings
that bend the oyamels’ boughs
the millions of ounces
that flew thousands of miles
to overwinter here
we use the same word for stained glass
and blood on a weapon
marmalade on their concave tongues
they descend in a long apricot cloud
and rouse the scent of fir
kings from another realm
this is their throneroom
when they settle, be silent
because in earthly life
they were not
In memory of Homero Gomez Gonzalez, manager of Mexico’s El Rosario monarch butterfly sanctuary, and Raul Hernandez Romero, a tour guide at the reserve. Both conservationists were found slain early in 2020.
