La Bestia

Ángel García

​he clears the jungle for track
            In Tuxtla
                she washes clothes on river rock

the low growl of the tractor 
            trembling
                near the river’s edge she sweats

fever spreads through his body
            heart tense
                from her fear of the tree lines

he cuts the motor and stumbles
            back home
                she tells her child to stay close

everything green grows into dark
            shadows
                begin to stalk their young prey

what slowly feeds on his wrought body
            will kill
                a child momentarily unattended 

dragging his body through a trail
            his cries
                echoed by a mother who mourns

for home, he wants to go back home
            to live
                she knows they must leave here

to get away from the train, the beast
            la bestia
                that will consume her family whole

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Ángel García, a proud son of Mexican immigrants, is the author of Teeth Never Sleep (University of Arkansas Press), winner of a CantoMundo Poetry Prize, winner of an American Book Award, and finalist for the PEN America Open Book Award and Kate Tufts Discovery Award. He currently lives in Champaign, IL.