I do not believe
in the Name of the Father.
I believe in you, who tosses
and whisks my woods
when praying on my body.
I prefer to celebrate
this slow euthanasia
with sweat-laden body
and exorbitant eyes
on a meadow of radioactive stars,
beheaded mallards on my lap.
You dreamed the schism of the saints
the mystery of hermaphrodite wreckfish.
the Virgin of the dunes
and vinegar
for wandering antelopes.
When I see you sleep,
night perfumes herself with oranges.
Sergio A. Ortiz is a two-time Pushcart nominee, a four-time Best of the Web nominee, and 2016 Best of the Net nominee. 2nd place in the 2016 Ramón Ataz Annual Poetry Competition sponsored by Alaire publishing house. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in FRIGG, Tipton Poetry Journal, Drunk Monkeys, and Bitterzeot Magazine. He is currently working on his first full-length collection of poems, Elephant Graveyard.