Our Lady of the New Millenium: Juarez Poem

She was martyred in the desert by men disguised as boys. Her death was rarely mentioned. It was blamed on her wily ways.

She was killed many times over. She was raped and strangled. She was beaten with fists. Her life was kicked out of her by men wearing Nike running shoes. She was suffocated by her own clothes, her thread-bare shirt stuffed down her throat.

She was taken to the depths of the desert, which is deeper than the depths of the ocean. The stars were just forming patterns in the sky. One of them put his hand behind her head and forced her face into the sand.

She died there.

She was riding home from the factory where she arranged television parts and soldered transistor radios. She was the last one on the bus when the driver stopped. She was found later. Her skin was black as leather from the sun. Her teeth gleamed white and she seemed to the officials to be smiling. But she was not.

Once she was disemboweled by two boys in matching Adidas sweatpants. She was tied up with shoelaces and killed with a fork and spoon she kept with her always, so they would not be stolen while she was at work. Her fork and spoon were forced inside of her in a manner that would kill anyone, even the mother of god.

She was stabbed with cheap plastic pens bought by the dozen at the dollar store. These plastic pens had not enough ink in them to write a line on paper. They were cheap and worthless. The pens were forced into her and left there. When she was found, only the pens and her bones, bleached white from the sun, remained.

In the desert her clothes were taken off of her and hung on cactus limbs. As Christmas garland is hung from Christmas trees, her clothes were hung. Then she was raped by three men and killed by one. He could not force himself inside of her. Instead, he forced his gun inside of her and shot her.

She was left in the desert to die when the sun was creeping up over the edge of the earth.

She was tied to the hood of a broken down VW bug. Around her feet were empty plastic water bottles. They were not arranged; they fell where her killers had dropped them. One of the bottles was lined with lipstick. The officials noticed this and thought more highly of her murderers.

Her death was blamed on a stranger. He was imprisoned. Though he was a bad man, he had not murdered her. Another had murdered her. She knew this but could say nothing.