The Puerto Rican Literature Project

I mark the devolution of the gene

lines of clay powder protect my nostrils

I mark the devaluation of the gene

I don’t have new butterflies today, they don’t matter

I mark the devolution of the gene

my adipose fibers haven’t returned

the fat of the capitals that crush the middle layer

hunger that rhymes knife with knife

I mark the devaluation of the gene

the wasted lineages of so much self-scraping for the saucepan

I mark the devolution of the gene

I mark the devaluation of the gene

and despite this

I am a chicken

an ancient reptile

immense and spaced