[Executive Order]

The     crisis     crown.     black     thorns     piercing.     for     of
inviolate     flesh    a     replica     of     flesh.     dioramas     of     bodies.
lashed     &     stretched.     trunk       opened     for     reverence.     in
the      thickening.     death      of      the     compound.     noun      we
are.     bones     bleached     to     bear.     wings     of     dried     lungs.
paling       the     sovereign.      for     the     world     speech     defies.

From Museum of the Americas (Penguin Books, 2018). Copyright © 2018 by J. Michael Martinez. Used with the permission of the author.