The Poor

BY ROBERTO SOSA

TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH BY SPENCER REECE

The poor are many

and so—

impossible to forget.

No doubt,

as day breaks,

they see the buildings

where they wish

they could live with their children.

They

can steady the coffin

of a constellation on their shoulders.

They can wreck

the air like furious birds,

blocking out the sun.

But not knowing these gifts,

they enter and exit through mirrors of blood,

walking and dying slowly.

And so,

one cannot forget them.

from Poetry Foundation

My husband and I met Roberto Sosa when he was invited to be a resident Poet at Montclair State University several years ago. We loved hearing his stories and the way he presented his ideas about humanity and the injustices that happen in life.