Francisco Pizarro González by Amable-Paul Coutan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Every time I stand at the edge of the Pacific, wiggle my brown toes in white sand, I fear not the undertow. I see neither jellyfish nor sharks unless conquistadors count as sharks. Instead, I spot Pizarro’s caravels. From their gullets emerge hooves, boots. As the other beachgoers plant their colorful, patterned parasols, all I can see is armored, bearded men thrusting the flag of Spain in native sand: the red saltire inside the white ensign teethed like the jaws of a shark. No greed greater than theirs, even the finned man-eaters’. Nearby a group of small children work on an elaborate sandcastle. Though I admire their collaboration, my hands and jaw still tighten, when I picture Spain’s castles, their designs imported to Lima: slated spires, Corinthian columns, niched apostles—each part of the capital’s cathedral, built atop Inti’s shrine. And yet, I cannot help but finger the crucifix on my cross necklace, wondering whether Pizarro ever did the same. All the while, a voice gently whispers to me, As I once forgave humanity, you, too, must forgive. Though I try, it’s hard, seeing boots of brass, each spurred at the back, disembark, meet bare feet they’ll later shackle. Or gloved hands grasp for arms full of gold, silver, emeralds, textiles made of vicuña. Baskets stuffed with huaco. And still demand more. Instead, it’s far easier, feels much better, to picture their ships splintered in waves, slivered cork-oak afloat in the foam. The water turned crimson by shivers of sharks. So, too, the greaves and gorgets, each chewed, sunken, lost. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Jonathan Fletcher, a BIPOC writer, currently resides in New York City, where he is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in Poetry at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. He has been published in Arts Alive San Antonio, The BeZine, Clips and Pages, Door is a Jar, DoubleSpeak, Flora Fiction, FlowerSong Press, Lone Stars, New Feathers, OneBlackBoyLikeThat Review, riverSedge, Synkroniciti, The Thing Itself, TEJASCOVIDO, Unlikely Stories Mark V, Voices de la Luna, and Waco WordFest. His work has also been featured at the Briscoe Western Art Museum.
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