THE EAGLES

Here in this section are the eagles.

The golden, flowing one.

The imperial one.

The eagle atop its nopal.

The two-headed one (a phenomenon)

in a cage all its own.

The medal-decorated ones

ripped from the chests of  the condemned

in front of firing squads.

The pecuniary one, doubled, $20 gold (twenty dollars).

The heraldic ones.

The Prussian one, in all black, always, like a faithful widow.

The one that flew for sixty years over the Maine, in Havana.

The Yankee, taken back from Vietnam.

The Napoleonic ones and the Roman ones.

The heavenly one,

with the Altair star shimmering on its chest.

And finally,

the eagle

from that brand of condensed milk, “Eagle.”

(A model specimen,

truly original.)

Translated from the Spanish