by Ella Flores
Mural of Market Day in Rainy Season
Already the bluebirds have pushed their young
from tangled nests of twine & telephone
wire. Already the plastic canopies
overlap stalls within stalls & within one, a steel hook creaks
a pig’s swaying head, snout filled
with the smoke of its own taste buds. Already the afternoon showers
roll in power outages & hawkers who push carts of cap
rifles & neon-dyed chicks. Up the rivers of primary
school uniforms, the flies have already landed
back on the papayas small hands brushed. Already the three-
legged stray is following the widow-eyed girls to where
they’ll haggle over freshly sewn dolls. Radios drown
out birdcall with oldies & foreign hits. Infant seas distend the bellies
of tarps until only a pig’s detached gaze is left
to watch over a girl carrying a brand-new daughter
through runoff waterfalls, taking
Poet Ella Flores is a poetry PhD student at SUNY Binghamton, and has work appearing, or forthcoming, in River Styx, Sugar House Review, DIAGRAM, The Penn Review, among others.
Artist Roger Camp (he/him) is the author of three photography books including the award winning Butterflies in Flight, Thames & Hudson, 2002. His documentary photography has been awarded the prestigious Leica Medal of Excellence and published in The New England Review, New York Quarterly and Orion Magazine. He is represented by the Robin Rice Gallery, New York.
Gulf Stream Magazine 