Monique Quintana
The color of Saturday
For Jackie Huertaz
is burned until it dissipates. In the smoke of the valley, a girl stands near the train tracks making animal balloons into lions for sale. She decides to keep them because they call her guide, and they call her advisor. They paw to Banda music. They to paw to sacrifice. She gives them mouths to speak and tails to run any way they want to. The morning she learns their names, they walk off into the cold smoke and the mountains.