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4.  T h e   B u r n i n g 

Fearing a breach of either

could cost him his job,

Juan honors

his unspoken vows

of secrecy and loyalty

to the Chisos Store.

Hence, he strikes the friend

who whispers, handing him

the mail-order catalog.

The coals of the fire

for his cabrito

are still smoldering.

Watchfully and quietly,

he tears the pages

from the catalog spine,

wads them into balls,

and burns them.

The flames they make

cast terrible shadows

on the adobe walls,

the shifting shadows

of things forbidden,

dark and unforgiving

as cardinal sin.