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Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 4097 Registered: 11-1998 |
Honorable Mention The Angel of Paraguay Lisa Janice Cohen for Judith and Jerry Shanty towns sprawl for miles along the river's sluggish flow. The city shimmers through a haze of charcoal smoke. At night, lights draw the curious and the dead. Tourists confuse desperation with desire, convince themselves that dollars for innocence is fair trade. A woman steps off the plane, breathes in air heavy with the scent of poverty. Street vendors sing out for her attention. Eleven years before she fashioned river clay in the shape of a boy with eyes the color of jet. Today, she sees his face everywhere. She goes home with a young girl and her baby, eats chipa and bananas, sips thick mate. Tomorrow, she says, I will go with you to the health center. The girl smiles, shakes her head, no, not safe for you. Pain stares her down; she does not flinch. A band of children circles around but she is empty now. Nada mas, no hoy. They laugh and scatter. Hasta Manana. |
