Untitled Poem by Isamar Carrillo

When I was little
I remember those Carnival afternoons
Stretching to infinity;

In a too-tight bunny suit
(Symbol of last year's Spring)
I would patiently wait

For the promise of sweets to materialize. Years
Later I was more focused
On the music and the marching bands

Saluting the King of Fools.
That's what Ignacio was;
We told him not to go

Celebrate that Carnival too late
in the season. I sensed them
Rolling in like an incoming storm;

Like the horizon of History:
Mao, Kim II-sun, Souphanouvong, Stalin,
Kérékou, Castro, Duvalier,

But his fear was already rage.

The last time I saw him
He was marching down the street unmasked,
Drum in hand, dancing luminous in white
Towards a bridge covered in hidden sharks.