2 POEMS
salomon vertiz
MICTĒCACIHUĀTL
Lady of the Dead
Queen of the underworld
keeper of their bones
ancient festivals
celebrate the dead
in your name
You were born
and then sacrificed
as an infant
a human offering
we present to you
a flayed body
intact
revealing the void beneath
with mouth agape
to swallow the stars
at night.
THE FUNERAL OF MY DREAMS
In the funeral of my dreams all of my mortal enemies are invited. Once they arrive they take a seat. The pews creak. Suddenly the doors are locked from the outside. My corpse emerges from the casket, on strings. Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” plays through the speakers. My corpse, chasing my enemies as they try to escape the room.
Salomon Vertiz is a self-taught writer from Southeast Los Angeles. He self-published his first zine, Mixtape (2016) and had a poem, Burning Yellow Hares, published in an October Issue (2020) of FEED Lit Magazine. Feel free to peruse his thoughts vicariously through his blog, saturdaynightwristblog.wordpress.com.
"Dia de los Muertos is a day to celebrate long lost loved ones and a special day when Death is celebrated instead of mourned/feared, accepting Death as a natural part of life."