Poetry Makes Nothing Happen
In honor of today’s World Cup final, I am posting a photo I took of W.H. Auden’s poem “In Memory of W. B. Yeats” while in Rio last year. I love the line that goes: “Poetry makes nothing happen.” It is, somehow, true. But then, somehow, it’s not. Read Rio de Janeiro, Sept 2013
A Poem for Women Who Don’t Want Children
I come across all sorts of poems in my continuous hunt for literary journals that might house the verses I wrestle to write. Recently, I came across a jewel. A simple, stunning jewel. The poem was a finalist for Rattle Poetry’s 2013 Contest and was written by Los Angeles-based poet Chanel Brenner, pictured above. To read more […]
New Year, New (About) Me
The Drugstore Notebook recently turned one. To celebrate, I updated what truly was a pitiful “About Me” section. Please visit my new About page, which now includes links to my published works. As always, thank you for reading!
My poem “Juan” in East Coast Ink Magazine
East Coast Ink Magazine published my poem “Juan” in their Portraiture issue. It was hard to let this piece go, but I am also very grateful that it found a home.
Ivy League Sex Education
On a recent trip to New York City I made an obligatory stop at The Strand bookstore, quite possible the world’s best. Their poetry section is so rich with options that it is almost impossible not to make an interesting discovery. Among the discoveries I made is Taylor Mali’s book “What Learning Leaves.” I picked it because […]
Transit Poem
The way it happens proves too much Russian weapons carved for a dead menace sold to hungry Hezbollah Borders get pierced A regime firm as bone takes in the Shiite mobs An ayatollah fingers a final prayer bead before the burnt fridges of Homs This is called ash That is called […]
The Dictionary Art of William Kentridge
South African artist William Kentridge’s ink drawings on dictionary pages direct our attention to the uncanny, almost magical way that language and meaning function. There must be a Wittgenstein reference in Kentridge’s work, as it was Wittgenstein who transformed metaphysical coffee house chatter when he said: “Meaning is use.” In other words, we create meaning by […]
Sylvia Plath by a Balinese Pool
Poems that soothe, that create a mellow mood can be difficult to find, particularly so in a collection of Sylvia Plath poems. For this reason, I was so thrilled to find the poem “By Candlelight.” Its backdrop is one of recent abandonment and of deep cold. But there is a candle well lit and a […]
Sexuality is Possibility
The last half of the twentieth century saw the birth, adolescence and remarkably mature adulthood of a new field of cultural investigation: Gender Studies. A natural consequence of the sexual awakening of the Western world in the sixties, Gender Studies focuses on how we define what it means to be a man and/or a […]
Trip Poem # 11 – Airplane Movie
A quick toast to the era of seasonal hotel stays French window frames sipped each afternoon Hats shaped in boxes Elevators rise by men on stools A candle lit at the precise corner of every room Language barriers transformed into accents With a change of attire And patent leather shoe Women named Agatha Answer […]
Unnecessary Necessities
We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities. -Oscar Wilde
Espíritu Santo
“Espíritu Santo” is a poem about the impossibility of communication, except through bursts of emotion. Big River Poetry Review published it this past weekend and will include it in its 2014 anthology. I have to confess I am thrilled as this is probably the most established journal to publish my work. Thank you for reading!
Suicide Off Egg Rock
I dislike mentioning suicide when speaking about Sylvia Plath. But, today, it’s truly inevitable because the poem I chose for this week is in fact about suicide. Not hers, however. The suffering soul here is a nameless man who is disgusted by life, its sounds and waste, “that landscape / Of imperfections his bowels were […]
Archimedes in Jeans
An excerpt from Polish writer Wislawa Szymborska’s poem “Thoughts that Visit Me on Busy Streets,” taken in mid-Colombian plains.
How Others Do It
A Literation Magazine published two of my poems. I posted the first yesterday. Here is the second. Check out the great work they do to promote emerging writers here!
A Literation Magazine Published Two of My Poems!
So honored that the magnificent A Literation Mag published two of my poems. The first is above. I’ll share the second one tomorrow. Please visit their site to learn about the great work they do to promote emerging writers.
Small Birds Converge
I feel that there is always something dark and sinister looming over the poems of Sylvia Plath. Sure, her personal story, ending in suicide, hangs heavy. But, take this poem pictured above, “The Manor Garden.” From the title, one could simply expect a piece about a garden, perhaps succumbing to fall. But the nature imagery isn’t […]
Trip Poem # 10 – Temple Tour
There is no redemption on the temple tour Just grass and root The dis possessions of time You may pray for free But hungry monks look on Their sticks of incense sell for a dollar Oh pay the dollar Rent the pants for your barefaced ankle Tip the skinny guide Yours is local history […]
Shameful and Shameless Election Coverage in Colombia
Election Day Today, I am veering off topic to write about politics in my home country of Colombia. Today, is the presidential run-off between incumbent President Juan Manuel Santos and hopeful candidate Oscar Ivan Zuluaga. It is a very tight race, exacerbated by the reprehensible media coverage of the candidates and the positions they represent. […]
Trip Poem #9 – Siem Reap
An ox cart of anger The puffed up monk selling smoke A sleepless temple climb An anxious gust of palm tree grove Sob sounds to joust the ruins Prayers spit in rush Breakneck photographs Find their home In foreign land