4 AM


Again
The singing bird
This morning competes
With the Wall Street Journal
Radio show

They play an excerpt
Of a song that says:

“I need you”
“I need you”

They played it twice
And I understand why
It is because
The like winning

But the bird sings
Longer & better
And it’s definitely
A natural

I walk outside
To congratulate
The winner
But it flies away

So I enter the kitchen
And drink some water
Then go back to sleep
But it starts singing again

I go outside
It flies away
I go back inside
And read out loud
Then I go to bed

WIRE FENCE


A bunch of birds
Have descended on my homestead
Perhaps it was the night cry
Of my visitor
That consistent
Nocturnal song

And now all these different birds
From different families
Are gathered

And I have to endure
That song
That sound

And it sometimes
Wakes me up
Last time
It was competing
With classical music

And I guess
It is all worth it
To get to see them
And hear them

They help me think
I live in the
Garden of Eden

MORNING

I rest on my bed
Humming bird on the window
Remembering you

different might be better


took care
of some dirty laundry
and drove
down the hill
to get some coffee

said hello
to a friend
and met a new one

from my table
i could see
the guy from
channel 12

he was paying
for some food
at the cash registered

he looks different
in person

perhaps he
should no be
so much in tv

puzzle


you came at midday
complementing my black boots
not enough for you

BE ALWAYS ON TIME & NEVER BE LATE


Sounds like
Sound advice to me

Sounds like
The music of success

Sounds like
A sound machine

Sound pretty & sexy
Sounds like it should

I rather think of it this way
Otherwise the sound will remain
Regardless of anything & everything
You say or do

The sound of morality
The sound of correction
The sound of work
The sound of what is right

Punctuality

And we beat the
Herd of deer
To the top of the mountain

It was still dark
When I was offered coffee
And I drank it
With the cold dawn

It was still dark
As I checked my rifle
And handled my knife
Very carefully

It was still dark
As we climbed
The rough terrain
And I fell in love
With the boulders

It was still dark
As I thought
Of yesterday
Of how I pulled the trigger
And how I missed

It was still dark
But we weren’t late
Because we spotted them

We saw them climbing
Straight towards us
Towards our intentions
Towards our stomachs
Towards our desires
Towards our wagers
Towards our rifles

But it was not dark anymore
Because I could see them
Through my cross hairs
And if I moved them
A little to the right
Or a little to the left
I would see new images
On my scope
They stood there
Frozen like brand new cars

And then…
The sound
Yes that sound
That accompanies the flash
And the push
That playful push
Similar to that
Of an annoyed lover

And the mountain
Became a disco
Because everybody was dancing
And even though we
Could no see them
There were others among us
Making music
With their music machines

And I stood there
On top of the wilderness
And I thought the gun
On my hands
Must be a guitar
Because my knees
Were shaking

ONE OF THE REGULARS


King of simplicity
Resting on
A 3 branch

Fire Crest
Sucking honey
From the
Dangling flowers

Masked like
A vegetarian pistolero
Professional eater
Moves like a fall guy

You are always
Welcome here
You can stay
As long as you wish

WAITING

I look
I look real good
I like what I see
And when her eyes move
I move mine

Away…..

I don’t stare
I don’t want to tare
I do care

How your beauty travels
This short distance
Between us

You & me

So I look away
Try to focus my eyes
In nothing in particular
Just and excuse
To avoid your glance

A pretext
Not to follow
The miraculous light
Of your semblance

A reason
Not to be wounded
By your splendor

I look back and
Its too late
Your delightful face
Next to my chest
Too close
To my heart

THE CABIN


The bird’s crying
On the night
Once again

Its song now competes
With an infomercial
Where one of the actresses
Has your name & looks like you

The bird cries in the middle of the night
And I don’t dare turn off
The portable black & white TV

The dinner has been a lifesaver
And its aftertaste lingers
In my mouth
In a dry kind of way

I get up from bed and I still
Can feel my soar ribcage
I walk towards
The refrigerator to have
A cold drink

It tastes like heaven….

I get in bed again
And there’s yet another infomercial
About middle-aged women
Crazy about soy

I turn off the TV
And turn on the radio
I try to get comfortable
And listen to music

My winged friend
Singing through the night
And its songs are your kisses
Landing on my right side

EZ MIGRA


You look familiar
He said

I was going to tell you the same thing
I replied

Do you get sent to secondary often?
He pressed

Sometimes….
I interjected

Where are you going?
He asked

To where the view is beautiful
I answered

Where?
He insisted

Chula Vista
I explained

He looked
At his computer screen
And hit the keyboard
As his face turned stoical

THE MESSAGE

He said the love of God
Is like the sun
Like the light
That comes forth
From the sun

That’s how we grow he said
And as he was speaking
I thought of my friend
Who each morning
Looks up towards the heavens
Closes his eyes
And charges himself up

He said this is
Something we need to do
To take away obstructions
Hindrances like garbage
Including blankets

The way he spoke
So familiar
So poetic
He must be Russian

COFFEE TRIP

She asked if I wanted my coffee mug rinsed
I hesitantly said yes and she ordered her employee
To do just that

Then she said that her husband
Doesn’t like to rinse his because
He likes to capture the flavor
I smiled and told her that I understood

She asked if I like coffee very much
And I just smiled & waited for my coffee
She pressed with another question and
Asked if I am a coffee connoisseur

I noticed how she was holding her baby
She still had that glowing look
That pregnant women have
And I considered how beautiful
She must have been before her pregnancy
And how her current beauty has improved
Into something so powerful

I like caffeine
I answered affably and
I wondered if her husband
Was the nervous looking
Fellow that was snooping
On me the day before as I tried
To write some work
On their second floor

I did not loose track
Of the smiley customer with
Fine facial features
Who stood next to me
Working with her paper cup
Looking ready to go

I thank the barista & the owner’s wife
And they answered in unison
And it sounded beautiful
Like church choir

I walked outside and spotted
Fine facial features getting in
A red car and driving away

I got in my car
And turned the engine on
Towards my left
A young Chinese girl
Walked on the sidewalk
Playing with her hair

THE THINGS ONE HAS TO ENDURE

I slept & it was cold
I instantly pulled a blanket
For cover

But it was not the same
It disturbed my sleep
It was not right because

I dreamt that a crazy woman
Broke into the house
Took my favorite sweater
And left some currency
On the table

I got up
And looked for my garment
And did not find it
I walked towards the table and
Grabbed the bill

I looked at it
And thought about all the money
In the world
Then I thought on my green sweater

I envisioned
A mad witch
Wearing it
Sleeping with it
Touching the fabric
And doing other things
With it

Sometimes people do
Strange things while under hypnosis
Confused in good weather

ENTRANCE

Above the entrance
There is a saint
On a white horse
Killing a dragon

The server captain
Speaks Spanish
And he’s my friend

He knows all words
Good and bad
He likes to smile & he likes
To play as if
He is the cathedral

We like it here
We can play with our friends
The guy dressed in black
Is funny
We liked him too

I like the lion
I like the oxen
That guard the
Front pillars
Of the building

I like your 4 legged friends
For watching my back
As I approach the
Universal medicines

All these people
Speaking different languages
And eating at the same tables
Communicating with
Gestures and hand movements
I like that too

FOOD

We entered the commercial box
And stopped and the special corner
My associate was not convinced
But I did not cared that much
Because I was holing a cup of coffee
And I was happy

I concentrated on
The Chinese televisions
And examined them to see
If they were enhanced digitally

I could not find out
Because an extremely attractive
Human being entered
My field of vision

I gave the signal
And we moved towards
A comestibles area

We struggled to find lentils
I gave up and concentrated
On a feminists-style article
About drunk writers
That decorated the magazine rack

As I read a quote by Hemmingway
Which stated something like:
“I drink to tolerate the company of fools”

The most attractive
human being in the store
Was informing my brother
Were the find the lentils
And how to cook them

I lifted my eyes from
The rag I was speed-reading
To find a pretty woman
With an anchor embroidered
On her jacket
Chest level right side
Smiling at me

I told the boy who
Bagged our groceries
To have his eye-infection
Taken care of
The cashier pointed
Towards the pharmacy
And I looked at the medicine

We walked towards the car
And I was told we did not
Have the right spices
So we visited the local chain store

And there we did not find
Chinese televisions
But we did see Chinese
Girls walking the isles

They looked at me funny
As I read something
About exorcisms
Next to magazine rack

A Spanish song played
In the store’s PA
And I noticed two cashiers
Singing the words
One was dancing
To the rhythm

I approach the dancing cashier
And asked her if she could
Tell me what was the last part
Of the chorus she was singing

She said it was something like
“Put your lips all over me”
But that she was not sure
Then she smiled

I asked the other cashier
And she said the same thing
And she also smiled

We paid and my friend
Did not wait for the change
But hurried out of there
I thank them
Took the change
Said goodbye & left

EJEMPLO

Igual que la luz
Las palabras extrañas
Penetran hondo

LA SEÑORA

Te ves más guapo
¡Que cosas dice usted!
Es tu edad hombre

THE 3 OF US


The 3 of us are
On the second floor sofás
The sun comes in
Through windows

The 3 of us are
Acting like children
And it is not bad
It has never been evil
It is desirable for everybody
To get to the best places

The 3 of us are
On the 2 story building
Light coming in
Trough transparent curtains
With no flying objects in sight

The 3 of us are
Like we are
And the mirrors
Are always the best
For becoming invisible

SIGN ON THE GATE

She was no where in sight
I just saw the usual pleasant faces
Those that do not need any aid

Because they in themselves
Are the aid of the universe
Walking on the deteriorating
Pavements of the world

You don’t need
Bombs or missiles
To crack the infrastructure
Of the cities in this planet
Usually nature takes care
Of this task

Instead of rebuilding
The same mistakes
It be much wiser
To just get out of the way
And look for solid ground
To build your house

Consider a full house
Resting on your hands
Made of stone
With an aqueduct
Running straight
To its kitchen

MEETING PLACE


At first she had a glance of indifference
Almost bordering on the snobbish
Every morning under the early sun
Every morning under the overcast sky

Her walking with her daughter
I walking with my boys
Towards the gates
Of elementary knowledge

And as I considered
Her facial features
I noticed the proper lines
That chart her semblance
And knew they held promise
Inside of her
Hidden in that matrix of emotion
We like to call heart

But beauty is never automatic
Beauty is a formation
Of intelligent energy
A breathing of the soul
An atomic beam
A cellular embrace

She was good to look at
But not pretty amongst the children
Who crowed the sidewalk
Who shouted and cheered
In excellent explosions of happiness

Lately
As we sometimes walk towards
Our different but near destinations
Almost side by side
I noticed a metamorphosis
Taking hold of her existence

Lately
As winter melts away
And spring is broadcasted
By the song of winged beings
Who like to loiter on the wires
I believe it is time
To contemplate her
Under the light
I feel I should utter
The words hello

VIOLET

We can cure cancer
I believe we can
I think you know we can

We can travel the earth
You and I
Inspecting every crevice
Every contour

We can plant your seeds
Where we find lesions
We can walk on
The roundness of the world

Study the cloud formations
So I can summon them
As long as you help me
Propagate yourself
Where the raindrops land

We can save the planet
I know we can
2 is better than 1
You and I
Helping the surgeons
Helping the shamans & priests
Helping the best of them

This way
You can help your flowers
And I can help
Those who are waiting for me

TOP OF THE MORNING


The best way to sleep on a couch
Is in the fetal position
Facing the backrest of the sofa
1 blanket is more than enough

This helps
With the conservation of energy
It creates a natural
Domestic thermos
An improvised silo
In a living room

There was a knock at the door
And I wondered
Who can it be
This early in the morning
I thought perhaps a teacher from
The school next door
Or some lost soul asking for directions

I could see her silhouette
Through the blinds
Definitely not a teacher
She was a student
Or some type of girl in disguise

She was full of life
Bright eyes
Fresh face
Her own energy
At peak levels
Revolving and spilling out
Form inside her spirit

I opened the door
And she smiled
Like a pro
But I could tell
This happened because
She is a natural

The girl
Asked for my mother
And then for my sister

My mother is abroad
My sister is sleeping
I said

She then gave me
A loaf of bread and
She looked just like you

And the package
Had that familiar name on it
Written with white letters
Over a red square

Is this for my mother
Or for my sister?
I asked
It’s for everyone
She replied
Thanks I said
She smiled & walked
Towards the car that
Was waiting for her
With a nervous looking woman
At the wheel whom I assumed
Was some kind of relative

All these girls coming
To my door
Trying to look inside
Looking around my shoulders
Looking around my face
Making me feel like
Some sort of doorman

I almost feel tempted
To invite them in
Offer them a cup of coffee
Sit with them
And engage them
Lovely conversation

GEO

Today’s promise land
I like my environments
Keep it organic!

FORWARD

This is how I cope
With the unbelief of life
I like to smile

DESK

The banker tries to
Reassure the director
Sadness in their face

SMILE

She then said to me
You are not that important
And then she loved me

ORGANIZED BELIEF

The past does not have
Any power whatsoever
Only the present

SHE’S IMPROVING

I saw her again
Now her senses are better
Flashback of beauty

BORROWED MOTORCYCLE


I met you at the airport
Then a train station
Then we spoke @ home

And you looked just like
In the photographs
Where you are climbing rocks
With your hair of gold
In your back
And you ivory skin
Illuminating the boulders

You then told me
That all these years
You have continued working
With supernatural boxes
Then we said goodbye

NIGHT CRY

In the middle of night
As I tried to sleep
I heard the cry of a bird
Outside my window
Standing on the branch
Of my tree

Its song was beautiful
As the pretty as the melody
That came out from
My radio’s speakers

I was tempted to get up
And hurry towards the
Nearest connection point

But I just laid there
In darkness
And listened to nature
Compete against technology

I considered their collision
And ponder how miracles
Continue their course
How they grow stronger
Molding rocks & eroding the ground
Like the passage of water

UNION

The world is a poem
Friends live inside many worlds
I am inside you

ARBOLITO

EL árbol de té
Llega hasta tu cara
Yace en tu mente

I'm a slow walker, but I never walk back.

- Abraham Lincoln.



COFFEE HOUSE

As I walked pass her
The unknown
Beautiful woman whispered
My solito

The 2 girls from last time
Sat on the table
Next to mine
Now more nervous
For reasons unknown to me

The older man arrived
And as he prepared
To light a cigarette
I moved away
To the second floor

Change is the law of life.

- John F. Kennedy

CABALLO

Me pregunta una vez más
¿Qué llevas en el portafolio?
Sonríe y le veo sus frenos

"I was trying to think about women packing ice cream in the Gaza Strip...."

Juliana Spahr.

CONTAMINATION

Lemons in the bowl
Petroleum-jelly on them
Green fruits of Libya

I TURNED & LOOKED

I am on the chair
I hear a giggling young voice
She shows me her smile

INTELLIGENT

My child seems hypnotized
By what he sees
I look towards the direction
Of his field of vision
And the only thing that captures
My attention is the sign
On the back of a woman
That’s says “bebe”

Some meters back
There was another sign
In another woman’s back
That said “perfect”

What are you seeing son?
I asked him
He remains silent
Glassy-eyed

What are you seeing son?
More silence

I look at the woman
And then look at him
He smiles at me
And runs away towards
His classroom

TREK


The best way to travel
Is inside tears
Specially tears
That can not be identified

Secret tears of love
Stealthy tears of rapture

Tears that lay the
Route for journeys
That only truthfulness
Can generate

Tears that wash away
The ungratefulness
Of a harmful world

After all
If you follow your tears
You will arrive
To the place where
Water gathers

AIR WHISTLE


The helicopters outside
Fly on my night
And you have made
Of your mind an airport

I am sorry
For not being sorry
When everybody
Began to suffer

I believe it is less dramatic
When it happens in a monitor
In real life
I always like to
Home in beauty

It is better for the heart
For the mind
For the soul

I did not meant to give life
To your disguises
But I felt them
And touched them
And now that they are alive
I love them too

In creation
There’s no accidents
Only art

We love
The work
Of our spirits

It remind us
Where we come from
And where are we going

WELCOME TO HER SMILE


There was a lot of wine
I told him it was a noble thing
A good cause
A good mix

When they fed us
They became more relaxed
More comfortable

They were close when
They said the place looked
Like an Egyptian structure

The feeling was foreign enough
But it was just a feeling
Because the guy serving the pork
Spoke Serbian

The girl dispensing
The water bottles
Spoke Spanish
We had a good understanding
She even gave me thumbs up
With a beautiful smile

WALK

The girls
In the German car
Looked up & smiled

Their eyes trembled
Like cartoon characters
Like bouncing marbles

Like shooting stars
Trying to escape
From inside their
Eye sockets

The guys next to them
Looked away
And took a deep breath
Yoga breathing by accident
On a sidewalk of hyperventilation

And the afternoon was
Not cold anymore

I almost stopped
But movement is better
And my destination
Was getting closer anyways

SCREEN

Dough you are a bomb
A cry for help in the night
A humble servant

DEFAULT


When I take my glasses off
I see the world as God
Wants me to see it
Peaceful and malleable
And the beauty is always
In the hidden details
This is not my fault
If I can see more
While seeing less
If I can find the softness
In human nature
The goodness of human beings
Ready to be deployed

BUREAUCRAT

Thank you beloved
Take care of my sweetest heart
My magical day

SCHOOL

In the past I saw your future
You were older & even more beautiful
Smiling with the children

OUR DREAMS

I try to hold your beauty in my arms
When I direct-dream towards you

Towards your world of metaphors
Every each one of them
A dream itself

A dream like you
That slowly slips away
Towards the blue ocean

You turned me into
An amphibious dreamer
When I direct-follow you
Under water

I have never seen a swimmer
As beautiful as you

ONDAS

Papá mira
El agua corre
Como si fuera río

CAMINATA

El perro nos ladra
Le contestamos con carcajadas
Con la luz del sol

MEXICAN BUS

The guitarist plays
With Willy Nelson’s guitar
Storm inside my heart

THE BUS

The girl & her mother
Are riding on the bus
I like riding the bus too
Because the bus driver
Was nice to me
Like in a 1950’s movie

I like the girl’s eye glasses
And her dreamy demeanor
The way she would sigh
Once in awhile
Leaning against her mother
Against that suspicious look

When I ride the bus
I like how you can see
The people walking on the sidewalks
The shops with their esoteric numbers
And their symbolic names

I like the way I can see
Through the windows
Without worrying about
Crashing & dying

I like the way the girl
Was looking at me
With glassy eyes
A peaceful face
A tender presence
Just how I would imagine
My own daughter

I like being on top of the bus
Sitting on the bus
Standing on the bus
Walking away from the bus
Walking towards the bus

The bus tried to kill me and it failed
And your eyes my frail miracle
Make for the beauty of
All the world’s children

Tell you mother to lighten up
Tell her that you love her
Tell her to love you back
Tell her how you feel
Teach her to feel like you do

At the end of the day
As I sat in the taxi
In a different country
With different people
And stronger feelings and
I saw you & your mother
Walking towards the east

LESION

The sofá has stopped
The healing of my right side
Firm dreams are better

WINTER

Lime ice-cream is good
With salt in the afternoons
Flavors of summer

“Game laws should be drawn primarily in the interest of the whole people, keeping steadily in mind certain facts that ought to be self evident to everyone above the intellectual level of those well-meaning persons who apparently think that all shooting is wrong and that man could continue to exist if all animals were allowed to increased unchecked”

T. Roosevelt. 1910

OUR TABLE


He tries to kiss her
I smile & try not to notice
She seems uncomfortable
And he grows impatient

I concentrate on the poets
On the food
The tortillas
And the tequila

They take our pictures
And I tell my boys
To say cheese
And I say cheese with them

The girls look our way
And I remember the drunkard
At the Bob Dylan’s concert
With a scared baby hanging
From his chest as he proclaimed
“Chick Magnet”
And I smile again

But my children
Are having the time
Of their lives
Playfully laughing
With my promoter

They laugh
I laugh
We all laugh
I realize
This is very good indeed

RITUAL

The drinking of fire
Is as important as your love
Both are a matter of survival

SUSTENTO


Si cada bala pudiera convertirse en un beso
Y en lugar de suicidios tuviéramos castillos
Y en vez de casquillos
Críos que pueden transformar el mundo
Con una avalancha de cantos

Y si la sangre en lugar de escaparse por
Los alcantarillados de la ciudad
Se multiplicara con entes sonrientes
Capaces de sanar las dolencias de muchos

Y si el disparar no hiciera de una familia
Más chica sino más grande
Llena de melodías
Que funcionan como anticuerpos

Y si las mesas no estuvieran
Cubiertas de platillos caníbales
Sino de las plantas del Jardín del Edén

Si nuestras bebidas nos hicieran
Mirar el futuro y evitar los eminentes
Tropiezos de nuestro caminar
Si fueran calor para nuestros huesos
Y regeneración para los tejidos destrozados

Si nuestro entrar fuera como nuestro salir
Y nuestros días con noches muy diferentes
Y las noches permanecieran iluminadas
Con los movimientos del Amor
Ese trabajo de inmortalidad
Que mantiene al planeta ocupado

Si los ingredientes de tus pensamientos
No causaran tu muerte prematura
Si estuvieran vivos y no muertos
Si tuvieran la voluntad para resistir
El largo salto de la vida

Si los pisos estuvieran habitados
Por perros agradecidos
Que comen de las migajas
De señores y señoras enamorados
Sentados en la cima del mundo
Sentados en este restaurante

Si las ventanas ya no fueran vendettas
Sino reflectores de la verdad
Brillantes detalles resplandecientes
En los rostros de una familia

FIELDS

The garbage man doesn’t come
The Mediterranean gusts do the job
Refuse outspread on the grass

LAST NIGHT

The lovers
Called the police
There’s someone outside
With flashlight
And the police said
It is just the moon

ACCOUNT

The boy
Was plastered with jelly
He was cleaned
And the towels were
Heavy with marmalade
The soiled linens were
Given to Avellana
When she woke up

Optaré por las tortillas JM
Cuando esté controlando mi ordenador JM
¡Pero cuidado con los coyotes! BA

ALIMENTOS

Los astronautas
Comen tortillas
En el espacio

POEM FOR A HACKER

Your crafty presence adds
To whatever I do
You become indispensable
In the equation of creation
In the lattice of your reality

To think of you
As a partner in arms
Or an associate of the absurd
To ponder if you are needed
Or if you have become undesirable

Invisible partner
Take care of
More important business
It be good for you

I better wish you well
I better give you water
And not have you thirsty
Better hydrated
Than dried

Let me study
Your grey matter
I don’t know if
I should give you a hug
Or quick you
Between your legs

SONG WRITING

I played my guitar
On my bed
It laid on the side
That hurts the most

I sang a song about lovers
Who are euphorically lost
I sang a song
About everlasting devotion

And suddenly…
Your song began to emerge
From that sanctuary
Inside my thorax
And it came alive
Like a memory of flesh & blood

Dreams of medicine
Blanket of my life
Under the stars of winter

***********************

Sueños de medicina
Cobija de mi vida
Bajo las estrellas del invierno

BATLLE

There’s no joy in seeing
Your opponent destroyed
Only pain & sorrow

WHEN I WALKED THROUGH
THE DOOORS SHE LOOKED
AT ME & SMILED


Today at Divine Liturgy
The priest spoke about
A blind man who was able
to see better than those with
A good pair of eyes

He was able to see with hope
While the others were blinded
By their ambition

There was a beautiful girl
In the chapel
I have never seen before
And she looked just like you

She kept turning and looking at me
And since I had a great view
Of her profile
I was able to confirm
Your image in her
And her image in you

I advanced towards the Chalice
And tasted the Blood of God
And as I returned to my place
I saw her glancing at me
I looked at her eyes
And she looked away

TASTE OF HONEY

We ate the fruit’s the earth
And the music cut our appetite
We bicycled towards the band

Their melodies spilled on the sidewalk
And we rode over them without fenders
So they could massage our backs

The owners always look weary
When the weather changes
They told the band to keep playing

They kept hoping for seafood
Trusting in beer as if it were rain
Examining the newspapers
Their money turning into clay

Siento tu mano JM
Y el viento agitado SM
De tu boca SM

pasa la tormenta jm
todos mojados sm
vivos flotando sm

CHANT


I laid on my back
And saw fighter jets over my sky
And their effects opened
Craters in my mouth

Kisses of medication
Killing the impending damage
And the holes were big enough
To become swimming pools
That could be filled with love songs

And she sang to me:

“I am searching for you
With fire
In my heart”

Please come back at 430
She said and then she sang again:

“I am searching for you
With fire
In my heart”

When I returned with
My war─torn mouth tilted
The medicine lady was waiting
For me on the sidewalk
And her lips extended
I hurried up the stairs and
I tried to run but the Novocain
Was pulling my hair & slowing me down

I wanted to hear that music again
My bruised body
Long for the singing healer
The musical surgeon
Of luminous moments

But the medicine woman
Caught me at the lobby
We sat face to face
And she told me

I come from
The land of your father
And my potions are
Strong enough to
Kill the chanting of the sirens
Listen to their songs
They’re all around us
Consider how they hunt
The city

Face to face
Smile to smile
Dark eye to dark eye

This is my city
I uttered with
The aftertaste
Of burned blood
Lingering inside
My mouth

I come from the Fatherland
She said with her medical eyes
Her seasoned lips
Her sea─hair
Adorning her presence
And I wrote down
Her formula
Her prescription
The name of her heart

And the music pulled
Me away from her
And she tried hard
To hold me down
But the harmony
Was stronger

“I’ll heal your soul
With my song”

The music came
From the other side
Of the opening door
And her voice said:
Come in


Her medical face mask
Accentuated her green eyes
Telling me a story
Of a river of lesions

“I am searching
For you
With fire in my heart”

Was she trying
To reach my heart
With her little swords
Penetrating the rooftop of my mouth
Searching for a voodoo doll

“I am searching
For you
With fire in my heart”

Her green eyes
Asking all the questions
All the queries
For the world
Happy to be a newlywed
And in the pursuit of procreation

“I am searching
For you
With fire in my heart”

Open to me
All your windows
Open to me
Your life
Trust me and undo
The awareness of your secrets
Because:

“I am searching
For you
With fire in my heart”

Don’t make the fire
Of my instruments disappeared
And tell me what other fruit
I will be eating

“I am searching
For you
With fire in my heart”

Tell me my future
And I tell you
Your weaknesses

And I walked away
With my losses
With my gains
With her persistent music
In the distance

“I am searching
For you
With fire my heart”

GRANDDAUGHTER


Granddaughter
You are up─right
Straight in─line
Correct on─line
It must be on
Your birthright

Granddaughter
You are beautiful
Not because you
Are my granddaughter
But because
You have my tu─lips

Granddaughter
You are healthy
Without being crazy

Granddaughter
You are such
A respectful demoiselle

Granddaughter
I smiled goodbye
And your chiseled face
Stood in place
But your heart
Gyrated like
A sunflower

Granddaughter
You work
On your precious feet
And exercise
On you shinny bicycle

Granddaughter
Mother of many creations
Willful allocator
Caretaker of my garden
Water my flowers

CONVENIENCE

Old white woman
With 3 young brown girls
Buying time

BIG CATS

People worship them but
They rushed to cut me down
I pressed the trigger & illuminated their day

COLLECTION


I saw your face again
Your beautiful face
Your clandestine face

And you looked tense
I could not reconciled
What I remember of your voice
With the photographs

And now you presence
Across my path
Such is the company
Of beautiful satellites
Classic artifacts of love

I am sometimes tempted
To tell you the power
You possess over others
I know you might have an idea
But I have the essentials

I have seen them
I have listened to them
I have their words
And studied their movements
And their desires

You!
Playful & beautiful
Middle-aged woman
With your suffering
As a relay signal
Of likelihood
Provoking the
Domino effect
On our foes

Let me know when
You find happiness
Because is not about
The highest magic wand
Save for the waters
Of the Most High

SUNDAY MORNING


God on the radio
Restructuring my ribcage
Less painful than yesterday

MOVING

Funky cars
On the prairie
Suns of vacation

DAWN

Pain wakes me up
Love is on the radio
But the bird song is better

SEE

We can’t see the sun
It hurts too much on the eyes
We can only wish


VEER

No podemos ver
Este sol con los ojos
Con el alma sí


TOS

Mi infraestructura se expande
Mi corazón suprime el dolor
Una lágrima se escapa


COUGH

My infrastructure expands
My heart suppresses the pain
One tear escapes

COUCH


Old man drinks
Newspaper murders in his hands
The liquid burns his lips

DRIVEWAYS


The people
These guys are young
Mid twenties

He got out of the car
She remained inside
Glancing at me

I drove away
But spot them again
On the driveway
Of a taco shop
Miles away

She looking at me
He looking straightforward
I driving towards the end

CAFÉ

Las doncellas
Hablan de tabaco
1 tiene aroma español

PERSPECTIVE

She looks prettier
When she blushes
Even if she belongs to winter

LA MESA

La mujer guapa come
Me mira ruborizada
Esposo e hijo en silencio

VISIT

The pair arrived
She’s nervous older & pretty
He’s younger nervous & intelligent

MANZANILLA

Sleep comes back
Thinking of your fresh kisses
On my right side

POLICE

Police machine
Police payment in heaven
Police patience for compensation
Police right away to exist
Police kindness
Police blindness
Police respect
Police truth
Police lies
Police the world
Police of summer
Police the things to come
Police little square
Police resignation
Police stagnation
Police contemplation
Police calibration
Police temptation
Police radicalization
Police paintings on the wall
Police the dreams of people
Police on the moon

NIGHT

Santana winds
Lingering around my ribcage
My heart contemplates


COCINA

Las verduras rugen
Con las caricias del fuego
Aroma de mañana

MAIL

She moved her toes
Outside the window
In the winter’s sun


SHIP

They wrote my name
Looking for an exit
On a wager
Indicating temperature

AFTERMATH

Dancing with memories
Images made of flesh
Her wintery happy smile

THE WAY HOME


Night ride
The street turns
Into a Van Gogh
Kiss of pavement
On my forehead

TIERRA PROMETIDA


Libertad para las flores
En los campos
De concentración

Salvación para una niñez
Bombardeada con
La política del miedo

Cuidemos la fauna
De nuestra época
Restauremos los mensajes
Del Amor

Despejemos
Cualquier intención homicida
Despejemos
Cualquier obstáculo
Que atente contra
La belleza

Construyamos túneles
De esperanza
Océanos de vida
Cielos de medicina
Con aviones en
Lunas de miel
Equipados con
Mísiles procreativos
Y bombas en gestación

Que la metralla sea
Semillas de bondad
Para la multiplicación
De árboles

Hidratemos las especies
Las que gobiernan
Esta esquina de Latinoamérica
Las que están
En aquel patio
De Palestina
Estos muros fronterizos
Aquel llanto
De Medio Oriente
Este parque de la amistad
Aquel parque israelí

Estas energías humanas
Con una misma sangre
Una misma intención
La supervivencia
La defensa de la sonrisa
El derecho a respirar
Aire libre de pólvora
La delicia
De tomar el sol
Sin las sombras
De murallas
Donde los niños
Y los poetas del mundo
Puedan caminar
Sin obstrucciones
En el camino
De la felicidad

CAFETERIA

2 Israelis trying to connect
It seems they just woke up
From their Mexican sleep



FEDERALES


The Federales pulled me over
So I got off my bicycle
And they asked me questions
About my work
About my radio
About my home

I noticed a similar pattern
To the boring migra questions
They repeat the same inquiry
More than once during their conversations
Hoping somehow you’ll give them
A different answer

“Are you nervous?”
“No just a little tired”
“Why do you want this radio?”
“I want it so I can operate it”
“This radio is used by the maña”
“The what?”
“The maña”
“The mafia?”
“The maña”
“I think you should be on a bicycle too”
“What?”
“Never mind”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I am writer”
“How many works have you published?”¨
“A few poems”
“Poems?”
“Poems…like poetry”
“So then you are a poet?”
“There you go”
“Can we search your belongings?”
“Sure”

They looked in my backpack
They rang my bicycle bell
They played with my Leatherman
They looked at my passport

“Are you a Mexican National?”
“That is correct”
“Thank you Sir”
“You are welcome”

They drove away
Holding their AR15’s
Close to their bodies
They seemed like nice kids

AM

I grip the cycle
On the line
Between dawn & day


CLONE

Yoko Ono
Walks with a child
In Mexican sidewalk


ROAD

Moving car
Amplified police faces
Passed us by


APPARITION

I saw him again
He’s still alive
Morning mixed feelings

MY FRIEND

The woman follows me
In the supermarket
She looks tired
And somewhat depress
I feel for her
Her husband looks sad

DE COMPRAS

Truenos de noche
Gimen las sirenas
Carabineros de prisa

SOL

La noche se quema
La noche clama
El día gana

BICYCLE RIDE

I pass the soldier’s station
They’re not there
Sun & wind hold hands

PERFECT

A bunch of migras
Looking lost
In car exhaust