We celebrate New Year’s Eve in San Salvador, city of

hammocks,

where streets are littered with firecrackers, wicks, and ash.

Dogs

run loose, no collar or tag. Isabel tries to control her

hair,

twist it into rows, slick with gel, bobby-pinned, but one

strand

betrays her in every picture, defies her hand. Free to

pace

the courtyard or burning rooftop ringed with sheets, we’re

escorted

to market behind the black veil of tinted windows. Her

canvases

remain untouched; lined like tired soldiers, they lean

against

each other in dark corners. Tubes of paint lay shriveled,

ends

curled like flayed skin. Each Indian protest bled into verdant

earth.

Bottles of linseed oil and jars filled with brushes upright

beg

to recount the story with each brushstroke: there was locura!

Choking

on the burrowed scream, the tantrum lodged in her throat,

balled

fists she can’t open, she has learned: Beware the silent

volcano,

the birdless jungle.

————–

About The Author:

Eugenie Juliet Theall’s work has been published in multiple literary magazines including Apalachee Review, Carquinez Poetry Review, The Chaffin Journal, CQ, Curbside Review, Eclipse, Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, Hawai‘i Pacific Review, Illuminations, Limestone, Lullwater Review, Mudfish, Oregon East Magazine, Passager, Quercus Review, Red Rock Review,The Distillery, and Slipstream. Her work won first place in the Elizabeth McCormack contest and was published in the Spring 2008 issue of Inkwell.  In 2007, she earned her fourth degree, an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence.  Currently, she teaches Creative Writing at Rye Neck Middle and High School.