Buenos hábitos
From my book “Entre domingo y domingo” (2014)
Coming Soon…
Talented Miami-based artist Adrian Avila is almost done with this painting, which will accompany a group of poems that I am gathering, polishing, nourishing. More news to follow soon.
The Good “Moods of the Dream Fog”
As one of the co-founding editors of New Mexico’s “Red Savina Review,” Wendy Gist invests her time in helping other writers share their work and in helping readers access good poems. But, she also devotes herself to her own work, as is evidenced by the quality of the poems found in her soon-to-be-released chapbook […]
Cosmic Lull
The old lives gain Reach forward into my days of mind Their voices crawl Unrushed but sure Recognizable as fingernail On wood Dormant lessons swell like a full lung Breath-held with the grasping Of days unlived Brandished in offering My story One more layer of mud Etched unto geologic time
Gradual Rot
Rot is a gradual process. It begins while the fruit is ripe and dangling from the tree. Once it falls, the process is in full, and the fruit must be thrown away or eaten quickly. I have picked mangoes off the ground of warm places because they taste good when they are just […]
Hangover Poem
Courtesy of Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Wow I says, happy new year everybody.
Porn and Poetry’s End Game
Of course, [pornography and poetry] probably benefit [from the Internet] for different reasons: pornography because people really want it a lot but are embarrassed to go get it in person; poetry because people don’t want it that much, so it helps if they can get it for free without ever even leaving their desk chairs. […]
The Hour of the Star is Here — Finally
For Clarice Lispector and her Hour of the Star As the author, I alone love you. If you don’t get a call, it is because I have your phone. The others are busy calling each other, being each other. I made them that way, but it is you who wants revenge. It is […]
Lunchtime
“Lunchtime,” from my chapbook “Reverse Commute,” published by Silver Birch Press.
The Year’s Best Poetry Books
According to “The Financial Times,” the list of the best poetry books of the year is topped off by a new, annotated collection of T.S. Eliot’s works. As much as I am putting that on my Christmas wishlist, I am more interested in ordering the two books named below by poets I’ve never read. Rankine’s […]
Who With
I honestly can’t even remember when I wrote this poem. I imagine college? Sounds about right no? In any event, I am immensely grateful to VerseWrights for publishing it on their home page this week. Thank you, VerseWrights, for sharing my young emotional angst.
Steal Like an Artist
I encountered the book “Steal Like an Artist” in a library this week and thought its advice fitting for a Friday afternoon. Its ten rules for becomming a successful artist make the task seem as easy as copying and pasting. I was especially surprised by rules 3 and 4. Surprised that someone earnestly wrote […]
“All” Is a Lie
I recently encountered the above plaque at one of the many schools I visited while searching for an elementary school for my son. It’s a verse from a poem that ranks among Margaret Atwood’s most famous works: “Spelling.” I will not offer up another “bloggy” essay of why the poem matters. Clearly it does. Nor will I get into […]
The Public
From my chapbook “Reverse Commute,” published by Silver Birch Press. This poem was originally published in Big River Poetry Review under the title “Espíritu Santo.”
Reverse Commute
I finally got my copy of “Ides” in the mail. Published by L.A.-based Silver Birch Press, it’s a collection of fifteen poetry chapbooks, including my own, “Reverse Commute.” The anthology is available for purchase at Amazon and contains some stunning pieces. In the weeks to come, I will be sharing my work, along with poems by […]
Anthologized
On October 15th, Los Angeles based Silver Birch Press published a collection of 15 poetry chapbooks, written by 15 poets, each 15 pages long. I am very excited to report that my chapbook, titled “Reverse Commute,” is among the 15. The book is called “Ides,” as it was released on the ides of October (i.e. the […]
Sick Talk
My poem “Sick Talk,” published by Washington DC-based journal “The Potomac.”
A Sudden Collapse of Ice
Poems can sometimes behave like short stories, like very short stories. They set the scene, bring the reader in and then leave them with an uncertain longing. In just fifteen lines, the poem below tells the story of two couples, of neighbors, of marriage, of winter. The title lets the reader know what to expect […]
La Pequeña Plaza (The Small Plaza)
Domingo 5 En ciudades pequeñas se renuncia al tamaño de la plaza. Ni pensar en recortar la esquina al crear la pequeña plaza. Ya se sabe de quién es, a quién pertenece. Camina en cuadrado, cuatro noventa grados. Es algo vacío, algo indefenso, aquel que pretende no ver a su mujer. Esta niña acepta […]
Kids Chase Him
A shot of a Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem on a sunny day.