By Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes
The Surfing Madonna
Our Lady of Encinitas
is sliding down the lip of a wave
on rails
Lotus sun
unfolding
Wind thrashed tunic
splashing
light
Palms pressing
misty beads into prayers
the fin of her hands
carving
blue glass
The angelic shoulders
of a migrant worker
balancing the virgin surfer
on a board shaped
by Eid’s moon
Halo
of Castilian Roses and stars
in her wake
Out of seaweed and trash
spills a childless Madonna
shot by security cameras
pleading immaculate ocean
Granted
a building permit