Santiago 2013
in Parque Forestal,
remembering a Chilean naval vessel in
Auckland Harbour, mid-1980s
Esmerelda, slender-waisted
one, may the great tongue
of the Pacific forever
mispronounce your name.
Strolling down this bitter avenue
of lemons and pisco
and fighter planes, O
bony mistress of the dictatorship
the nation’s poor will inherit
your scattered body, your
divided family. May
the legless veteran begging
on Avenue Santa Maria
his wheelchair marooned
in six lanes of traffic
thrive and prosper
like the good nation of Chile
and never be run down.
Gregory O'Brien