his lengua is yours    his arms are yours
           guitarra strings tied together   flailing against skim of drum—
      only fitting you lower his cajón    when those arms lose their rhythm
dress his cuerpo cacofónico proper   make sure the earth will take him
                  como un padre a su niño   sings songs with him forever

                                          reverb of bone and tissues

                    let those huesos vibrate   until the tissues disappear
                    settle bien fácil into dirt   echo out into wind
                   play a few notes for him   one last song to bring him peace
     catchy, fast, melodía del espíritu   help the breeze carry his phantom
      and maybe his body will follow   maybe he'll finally learn a dance

                                      one thing he can call his own

                  pound a tambor for him   play a few notes on them strings
         soft leather echoing soft flesh   let the sound fade like a heartbeat
            this isn’t entierro, but belén   homegoing, final family reunion
creak of coffin last-plucked strings   dirt dropping last percussion
                       his brazos were mine   his tongue was mine

                                    all that's left of the body is his