RAIN


Water comes down off and on
Hitting the roofs
Of your mind

Drops introduce themselves
Through the cracks
Dripping inside
The memories of your sight

Millions of drops land
On the fields
Of the world

Touching ground
Like inspired paratroopers
Like the wind knocking out borders
Like broken fences in the heart

PRESCRIPTION


Taste the bitterness of your deceit
Drink water
Avoid sugar

It will give you a stomach ache
But that’s what happens
When you don’t know how to spit
How to vomit the poison
That your insides are producing

The acid
You store in your organs
Is destroying your teeth

You haven’t received
The first blow
And you are broken already

Drink milk chocolate
Laughed & smile
Like children do
It will make you
Live longer
Live better
Live stronger

TELEPROMPT


Water is my teleprompt
The sound of many days
Passing by

The sound of many dogs
Approaching to bite me

The wait lines
Inside government buildings

The sound of the stapler
The sound of the gun
The moon & the stars

The distance between us
My aching joints
My aching soul

A dance that took place 20 years ago
The visions
Of my last dance

Listening to an orator
A speaker of the house
The vendors
The buyers of lies

The song on the radio
Yes… that song
About love & hate
War & peace

SLEEP ALWAYS RETURNS



The fence was folded
By the wind

It warped
It twisted

Like a used trampoline

It broke
It failed

Tomorrow will happen again
Because 8 is today
That’s what the TV is saying

This is something I do
When I feel sleepy
It sounds like music
Like singing in tune
It sounds like a soothing song

I did not say you should write it
I just made the sound
And then
You asked the questions

What?
Father…
What?
Oh father!

I never said I would do anything
What?
What?
What are you talking about dad?

Please stop writing everything I say
No way
I don’t like it dad

Sleep always conquers
Sleep always wins
Sleep never fails
Sleep always returns when you’re experienced

BANK OF AMERICA


Open a business account
We can change everything
If you use your ATM card
Once a month,
We will reverse the fees.
Do you want to open an account?

Well, since you put it that way,
It would be hard to say no.

Wha kind of work do you do Juan?

I am writer.

She gently, but rapidly typed on her keyboard,
Her fingertips were softly touching the plastic squares.

For a moment, I thought that if she wanted to see some proof
Of my vocation, I could show her my pen.

So, what kind of writing do you do?
Do you write, like books, and that sort of thing?

I saw myself, sitting in front of this banker, doing this
Business transaction, and I thought you had to be a bestseller
To be sitting here, a best seller with a lot money, or someone
Like Stephen King, or someone like a millionaire.

I sat there thinking I am not Stephen King
That I am not a millionaire
But I do think Mr. King and I
Have a common denominator
Stephen writes horror stories
And I write horrific poems.

I am freelance writer… I write whatever sells…

She looked at me and smiled
I was not smiling
I was looking at my reflection
On the window
Thinking if this was
An occasion to smile.

CROWD


Life gathers in the eyes
Of those without choice
When eyes are bloated
There’s fullness of life

Human eyes
Grow larger
With happiness
With pain
With love
And hate

Eyes ponder on
The impact
Of an awkward ending
Of an awkward life