Precious Moments
by Dimitri Reyes
On every counter and beside
——–the entertainment center,
space is claimed by little wings plucking harps.
——–Trumpets leading
——–an unknown charge of credit cards.
Boy knows heaven and its angels live
——–in his home and aren’t charged rent.
He cleans the faces of angels
to be closer to figuras.
——–To steal their breath
to simulate their worth.
Every Sunday he wipes down bookshelf altars
——–asking white candle for permission.
——–When lit, boy anoints their feet to be
reminded of words not often uttered.
They speak in minimalism,
——–this is their design casting shadows
——–on a picture frame’s upper lip.
He thinks himself into creationism:
from-factory, to-check, to-store, to-home.
A mom to always swallow pennies like pills,
——–counting them all in the bank account
——–of her belly
so boy answers to these tchotchkes
——–because angels breed more angels.
Boy reimagines her prized figurine
——–from first communion
——–with its beady cherubim eye.
A lure, the circumferencing
——–of a thrift store halogen light
shining on more porcelain dust collectors.
And he thought he heard it say,
——–——–she made me once
——–——–——–or
——–——–—–she is one of us.
Dimitri Reyes’ first chapbook, Every First & Fifteenth (2021) was the winner of the Digging Press Chapbook Competition and was published by Digging Press LLC. He is a Puerto Rican multidisciplinary artist, content creator, organizer, and educator from Newark, New Jersey. He has organized large-scale poetry events such as #PoetsforPuertoRicoNewark and read at venues such as The Dodge Poetry Festival, Split This Rock, Busboys and Poets, and the American Poetry Museum. Dimitri’s work is published in Vinyl, Kweli Journal, Entropy, Duende, Cosmonauts Avenue, Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the Diaspora, and The Acentos Review. He is the Marketing & Communications Director at CavanKerry Press and is the Artist-in-Residence with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Learn more about Dimitri at dimitrireyespoet.com.
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