Huelga
written by: Robert Walton
Jesús walked to King City
On a dusty road
East of town.
He passed Basic Vegetable –
Its flat blue walls,
Its stinks,
Its steams –
And turned in
At a workers’ fire.
Flames leapt in sunset wind
And the workers’ fingers curled
Around dancing heat.
Their jobs were gone
And most of their hope,
But they shared pan dulce
And a joke with Jesús.
He left them a smile,
And that warmth
Kindly visitors share
Before he walked on.
Dusty stars rose
And listened to
The wind’s many questions:
Who suffers?
Who cares for another?
Who is first?
Who is last?
On a dusty road
East of town.
Robert Walton is a retired middle school teacher and rock climber. His novel Dawn Drums won the 2014 New Mexico Book Awards Tony Hillerman Prize for best fiction. Most recently, his “Mansa Musa’s Wisdom” was published in Cricket Media’s February issue of Spider magazine. His website - Chaos Gate on WordPress.
Latest posts by Robert Walton (see all)
- The Magi Sisters - December 27, 2022
- La Loca - December 4, 2021
- Llorona - October 27, 2021
