Villa

Abstract

Villa Alonso Llerena (bio) A buzzard on a disconnected telephone polelooks past a charred chassis on the side of a road.Beyond a landfill overlooked by a shantytown,a woman weaves plastic bottles intoa waterproof cover for the roof of her son's room.He eagerly waits in line for a glass of milkgiven to him by the Vaso de Leche social program. Mornings are dust and coastal drizzle,a dirt paste the milk truck leaves behind.Its bumper sticker reads"Revolution Is the Affirmation of Life." I know those words were heard throughout Villa El Salvador,louder than the crimson hammer and sickleburned the hills seducing the night. Spoken by Maria Elena Moyano,Who at fifteen taught her neighborhood to read,Who at nineteen organized a leadership team for the women of Villa,Who defied terror marching with a white flag,Who was shot dead and desecrated with a grenade,Who became a symbol of hope for the three hundred thousand Peruanos who mourned her death. Have you ever loved your neighbor that much? [End Page 155] Alonso Llerena Alonso Llerena is a Peruvian poet, visual artist, educator, and mfa candidate at Bard College, Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts. His poetry has appeared in Cream City Review, Acentos Review, Magma Poetry, Temporales, ctrl+v journal, and elsewhere. His manuscript in progress, "La Casa Roja," has been a finalist for the National Poetry Series and the Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Prize for poetry. Copyright © 2021 University of Nebraska Press