To Those Who Have Lost Everything

By Francisco X. Alarcón b. 1954 Francisco X. Alarcon

crossed

in despair

many deserts

full of hope

carrying

their empty

fists of sorrow

everywhere

mouthing

a bitter night

of shovels

and nails

“you’re nothing

you’re shit

your home’s

nowhere”—

mountains

will speak

for you

rain

will flesh

your bones

green again

among ashes

after a long fire

started in

a fantasy island

some time ago

turning

Natives

into aliens

Francisco X. Alarcón, “To Those Who Have Lost Everything” from From the Other Side of Night/Del otro lado de la noche. Copyright © 2002 by Francisco X. Alarcón. Reprinted by permission of University of Arizona Press.

Source: From the Other Side of Night/Del otro lado de la noche (University of Arizona Press, 2002)

Biography

A prolific writer for adults and children, Francisco Alarcón was born in California, although he grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. Alarcón returned to the United States to attend California State University at Long Beach and earned his MA from Stanford University. His collections of poetry for adults include Tattoos (1985); Body in Flames/Cuerpo en llamas (1990); De amor oscuro/Of Dark Love (1991); Snake Poems: An Aztec Invocation . . .

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