The victim strolls into the scene
wearing dress shoes and a sport coat.
His icy gait is that of a strong, idealistic man,
a man whose life has been propped up
by words written in looping Arabic.
The man independent, unsympathetic.
To the journalist’s right, a Mercedes van,
black, parked like a stand-in for death.
It is the quietus of the journalist.
Mourn his words, wheeled like scimitars,
like mosaic pieces of a shattered mosaic.
The Mercedes ornament on the van’s grille
reflects the dead man in the sport coat
with the fallen words, walking assuredly past
—who is that? A conspirator? A guard?
Alejandro Escudé published his first full-length collection of poems My Earthbound Eye in September 2013. He holds a master’s degree in creative writing from UC Davis and teaches high school English. Originally from Argentina, Alejandro lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.