San Felipe, Baja California Nocturne, Circa 1982

Bats dove out of the bruised night sky,
from beyond the lit courtyard where

palm tree fronds swayed and slapped
against the sides of balconies, petals

from a heavenly tree, falling, swooping,
arching toward the water to drink,

to quench their eternal desert thirst.
This night we count them one by one,

drinking, holding each other down,
like them, we flow backwards toward

night, darkness, that gave all creatures
birth, and gave us this gift of fire

in our loins, in our mouths. Glowing.

*Virgil Suarez was born in Cuba in 1962. Since 1974 he has lived in the United States. He is the author of over fifteen books of prose and poetry, most recently In the Republic of Longing, published by Bilingual Review Press/Arizona State University. His sixth collection of poetry,90 MILES: NEW AND SELECTED was recently published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. He divides his time between Miami and Tallahassee.