A prayer

Damn these white boats that pass

With their rude music resounding off the stucco palaces.

And damn the bridge that opens wide for them

To sail home from paradise.

And damn this canal that passes below my balcony,

And damn the golf course on the other side

Where the ashes of our forefathers are surely scattered.

And bless the spoon bills for their propensity

For flying straight toward paradise

In all their pink majesty.

And bless the sun that is setting

Over the damn cane fields.

And damn this poem

That will find no place to rest

Until the world is at peace once more, amen.
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