Sotère Torregian: Quetzlcoatl

for Allen Ginsberg
The jewel of the leaves I see

Reflected on the butcher’s glassy showcase

Before which
I stand like an Egyptian totem with
Hands folded

The little girl holds the ukelélé
As an immolation
To the vanquished sun

And to the shadows
And the little Negro child learns and calls

Me a shadow as I pass

1962?
Newark, N.J.—New York

-- Sotère Torregian
From "I Must Go" (She Said) "Because My Pizza's Cold" Selected Works, 1957-1999 poetry book.