“21st Century Retablo,” 1/15 from 21st Century Retablo. 11.7″ x 16,” mixed-media on archival paper, 2005-06. Permanent collection, USC Fisher Museum of Art. Exhibited in 2008 and in 2013.

POEM: 21st century retablo

memory scares away the light/
to understand this/
is to know the principle of sacrifice/

here she is: our 21st century/
retablo made of spent water, concrete, cracks and splits/
found in the dark, infinite/
expanse between stars/
constellation negatives   made of bullet wounds/
the inverse of matter/
she, the prophecy of decay/

what can be believed when all is formed of belief?