Psalm for equations
I am sleeping in Detroit, Lord,
and I am afraid
of this American town.
The Algiers Motel is here
and I am afraid the dead will ask
"What went wrong, what
human deed gave such offense, or
terrified them into a response of fire?"
Lord, you need a new
Angel of Explanations
and a new Angel of Equations
because the dead blacks
far outnumber
the credible police.
--Jack Agüeros
(2002, in Lord, Is This a Psalm?)