Desert Rose
Orange Italian tile as far as the eye can see on which floats
A wood island bar, high vaulted ceilings flooded
With natural light. Tortillas and biscochitos wafting
Into three dining rooms leading off in as many directions,
Crystal glasses in the corner cupboard among the white
China grooved with painted pink flowers and green leaves.
The dinner platter, two dozen plates, cups, etcetera, all heavier
Than the other in their authenticity.
Their hollow clatter echoes throughout the gallería
As the Franciscan desert rose takes its rightful place
On the white tile counter.
How many heads of state have drunk
From these glasses or eaten finery from these dishes—those dead
Presidents and accused Governors—a large crack
Runs down from the lip where once it might have cut
Them, a small and insignificant justice, if only to knock
Them down a peg. The China breathes
Through that crack as labored
As its current owner, the last matriarch
Outliving all the high-titled men of the family, enough
For sole ownership over these ceramic pieces which may soon
Be distributed, separated, and collect dust in lesser cupboards, dethroned
From the mansion’s ridged perch atop the Sangre de Cristo,
Dissolution to her poor children, their inheritance stolen
By a capitalist society. That cornerstone laid by her husband,
Their father, grandfather, great grandfather, now belongs to the Bank.
Acknowledgment for the poem: In loving memory of my grandmother, Eloisa L. Block, and the home she built. Madame Butterfly
Dorian Block (he/him/il) is a poet whose words are drawn from living as a transgender Canadian immigrant contending with the loss of access to his homeland in the American Southwest, Oga Po’geh, NM. Dorian's writing won international awards at the National Model United Nations Conference in Rome, Italy, while earning his B.A. in English with an Arts Administration concentration. He wrote for and served as Editor of The War Hawk Herald and Art Editor and Prose Editing Staff for The Galleon. He co-founded one of the ‘75 Top Cosplay Blogs’ on Feedspot, covering national conventions as press with features in Cosplayzine, ClexaCon’s online Press Room and the Cosplay Savant column of FangirlNation Magazine. Dorian writes marketing copy across the entertainment industry and maintains an artistic practice in multimedia three dimensional scale. He currently resides in the unceded land of Amiskwacîwâskahikan, AB with his brilliant and beautiful wife and three fur babies, a German Shepherd, a cow kitty and a dust kitty.