for demetria martinez, for sandra cisneros

you beautiful chicanas with your surprising similes
like un nicho a la virgen de guadalupe
bursting flowers and festive color
at once sacred and profane, a loudly sung prayer
yet we coexist on the same page in the same poem
me, a concise slice of sushi, shouting nothing
neatly wrapped in metaphor
waiting for an acquired taste


mary oishi
29 july 2009