Dominga Corazon: A Poem of Remembrance

In the mountains
they found her—
brass lodged in her brow,
her bones
telling of her suffering.

The rosary her brother gave her
for her wedding
hung from her white jawbone,
where her teeth should be;
Felled by the butt of a rifle.

And Jesus on the cross
watched her rape.

Death is easy,
but the road to dying
is long.

till the single bullet
to the head—
from the rifle
of an Army officer
who crushed her face,
who left her to bleed.

He has three children.
comes home
from the mountains
bringing gifts.

His daughter loves ribbons.
His son, a gun..

“And the sins of the fathers
shall be passed down
unto the children

to the third generation.”

They sit to dinner
and say grace,

while the family
of Dominga Corazón
cry for their sister—

as Jesus
looks down
from
his
cross.

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© 2025 Chris Leibow — Salt Lake City artist and poet.
poetry, collage art, mixed media,
Explore more art at leibow.art.