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On this silent night

Venus lifts her veil as she waits on the horizon

Through her crescent smile, she holds her breath

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I lower my wool scarf to smell the cold, unfiltered air

I listen to park branches, illumined by reliable moonlight

Light and time slow as the night draws closer to solstice

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Still people retire to warm flats

Still nature folds under ice sidewalks

Still night in the city

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Though reliable as she may be

Venus suspends herself for a moment

From life forever in revolution

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I too wait until the moment

When a revolution ends

And another begins

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When ice cracks on a frozen pond

When a jet bellows in the distance

When sirens echo on city streets

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Venus lowers her veil

And with a pulse she breathes again on the celestial city horizon

Before blending back into this silent night

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Photo: Patricia Jinich, 2010

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Porous volcanic rock of my skin

Tejolote of my mind

The lingering smells of the past

Of pounded herbs and spices and memories of home

Garlic of my mother

Cumin of her mother

Cilantro of hers

The many spices of my ancestry

Are residue-enhanced flavors of my present

Each meal with my molcajete

Every pound of the stone that reshapes my soul

Is many meals bequeathed

Is remembrance of my lineage

Is legacy for my future

Is life

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