—after Federico García Lorca’s “La Cogida y La Muerte”
The wind on the ears of a cottontail
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a rat snake undulates through dirt
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a mule deer eats tender shoots
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a pronghorn bucks, he bucks
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a wolf nips the legs of a sheep
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a kit fox disappears into the brush
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
two neon eyes blink in the shade
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a roadrunner weaves through mounds of dirt
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a falcon hooks his talons on a steel bollard
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a man covers his face with a rag
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a woman cuts a round into a saguaro
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
a girl twists her ankle on a rock
on video capture at five in the afternoon,
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
Every living thing is on video capture,
an apparition to a man
in a concrete room in a city faraway
at five on the dot in the afternoon.
¡Ay, that terrible five in the afternoon!
¡Eran las cinco en todos los relojes!
¡It was five in the shade of the afternoon!