Chamoy, by José A. González

Man and His Guitar, by Rufino Tamayo (Mexico) 1959

​Chamoy

Sons of Liberty
trade denarii
and laugh as 
they rip the 
seeds off 
your cloak
Your curvy partner 
rests on the wall
next to you
She used to 
search for the outside
with the echoes of her chambers
the two of you used to play
but now are only a gift
She used to
attract the
volatile in
your wild
She still does
the seeds rattle when they fall
your vision narrows along their descent
you never watched your hands when you played
but now you see your fists land and with
the coins you buy a mangonada
and some new strings

José A. González

José A. González (he/him/él) is a Latine writer and poet based in San Antonio, Texas. His work emerges from a region characterized by low-income communities, struggling immigrant stories, and an innate resistance to Western hegemony. He has a keen interest in pop culture, the macabre, and writing in the often invisible divide between poetry and prose. His work was recently featured in the University of Notre Dame’s Re:Visions journal and will soon be published in Maudlin House and the upcoming Nepantla journal from Dominican University.