To Remain
November sixteenth, nineteen-eighty-nine,
in San Salvador, the unsaved city,
The soldiers rephrase Genesis: Let there be
Light, so we can see those we're killing,
The right bodies or the wrong bodies.
The death squad posters say, Be a Patriot,
Kill a Priest. And on this night the Atlacatl
Battalion, accents of training drills at Fort
Benning, Georgia, still in their ears, Made
In the U.S.A. bullets in their belts, circle
The University of Central America. Inside the gates,
They drag five Jesuits from their cots, men who
Yesterday said masses for the massacred, their
Minds now reminded of no new future testament.
They are now face down, fatherly eyes in the dust
Of the courtyard. And according to the official
Report, the bodies are lined from north to south,
With their heads toward the west, and their feet
Stretched toward the east. And after the killing,
After the commander's simple words, "Let's proceed,"
There remains Amando López, 55, theology professor,
Found in the following position: head to the west,
Feet pointed to the east, mouth down, left arm bent
Toward the west, right arm bent to the east, dressed
In striped shorts, green poncho, green jeans. And easily
Found next to him, there remains Ignacio Martín Baró, 46,
Psychology professor and Vice-Rector, found in
The following position: head to the west, feet
To the east, left arm to the west, right arm bent
To the north, right foot on the left foot, mouth
Down, wearing a blue shirt, black leather belt, gray
Pants, black shoes and socks. And Segundo Montes, 56,
Sociology professor and Director of Human Rights, who
Had said, "I want to live with the people who suffer
And deserve more," found in the following position:
Mouth down, feet extended to the northeast, head
To the southwest, left arm and right arm bent
Below the head with direction to the south,
Wearing beige shorts, beige shirt, and green jeans.
And next to him, Ignacio Ellacuría, 59,
University Rector, mouth down, head to the north,
Feet to the south, left arm to the north, right
Arm bent toward the face, wearing a brown bathrobe,
Beige shorts with vertical stripes, blue shoes. And
Next to him Juan Ramón Moreno, 55, theology professor,
Found in the following position: mouth down, head
To the east, feet to the west, arms extended toward
The southwest, dressed in black corduroy pants, black
Belt, long-sleeved blue shirt, purple shorts, brown
Leather shoe on the right foot. And inside
The residence, one remaining priest, called Lolo,
Joaquin López y López, 71, Director of Fé y Alegría,
The quiet one, who was chased through the corridors,
Found in the following position: mouth up, head
To the east, feet to the west, arms bent over
The chest, hands semi-closed, wearing a white sleeveless
Undershirt, brown pants, black belt, shorts with vertical
Stripes. And in the room off the kitchen, where they asked
To spend the night to escape the night of city violence,
Of quiet killings done quickly, the new siege, civilians
Beholding that one brightest star exploding, as their
Roofs are torn off by bombs, children watching
Fire fights after curfew through cracks in the walls,
in this room, Elba Julia Ramos, 40, Jesuit Community cook,
Mouth up, head to the north, left foot to the south and right
Foot to the southwest, right arm to the northwest, left arm
To the southeast, both extended, wearing a blue dress, beige
Slip, black leather shoes, white bra; and her daughter,
Celina Ramos, 15, high school student, mouth up, head to
The north, feet to the south, right arm over the chest, left arm
Perpendicular to the left side with direction to the north,
Wearing blue shorts, black, orange, red, and beige vertically
Striped blouse, white leather shoes with laces. Elba and Celina,
Who were "rekilled" when heard moaning from wounds, were
Found embracing before the M-16 fired ten more bullets
Into their bodies. And Elba was discovered that morning
By her husband at the same moment that Celina was discovered
That morning by her father, a campesino who cannot
Write this down, but instead weeks later planted two white rose
Bushes in the courtyard, one for Elba, one for Celina,
And surrounded them with six red rose bushes, one to the north,
One to the south, one to the east, one to the west, cardinal
Points, and two to directions that haven't been invented yet,
A compass of roses that searches for where we are going,
That can tell us where we have been. The white bushes
Are like the needle in the compass that tries to point
Beyond compassion. Or to tell us who the third person left
Standing is, the one who sees all, the witness, the one
Who has testimony, who has lamentation, who stands in
For the 70,000 Salvadorans killed in one decade.
Edward Kleinschmidt Mayes
Speed of Life
|
