Ragdoll

...at 10 he'd begged for coins to buy cigarettes,
after he became a gang member,
the name stuck...

I met El Mendigo
when he was already fifty something

sweltering guitars
el gran cabrón’s

wild days
long behind him

abuelo now
though maybe not the best

example of such
but which of us

flirts with
a burning mirror

and comes out
with clean white gloves

the barrio
was so different then

(which means
it was exactly the same)

he waxes nostalgic
while brown spiders

pour over his hands
I just want

my grankids
to have a chance

said El Mendigo
his sad brown eyes

bursting at the seams
like a hard carnival ragdoll