FACE
My face distorts and dances
in the rippling water.
And a goldfish floats through my nose.
SCRAWNY KID
Scrawny kid.
Lean against your crumbling shack,
And try to paint with...
The Birds Busiest Before DawnNorth Carolina, January 7, 2021
America, can you still hear us? Caged, mournful,what songs echo empty streets after all ballotshave been...
Words I Write
are words you read.Do my words bring you warmthlike sun on shoulders? Exhilarationlike riding a motor bike fast?Laughing childrenwho make you laugh?
Poems...
Indian River
I had no idea
when I threw the mangrove seed,
wishing for brighter days,
clouds prowled over the mainland.
Perhaps my offering failed,
perhaps nothing could be done.
But...
Settled in the Gray
Dust weighs down the roomgiving an unfocused appearance, yetsomehow adding emphasisto the few items that remain:the soft table in front of...
spend your time
and heal thyself
then the world
waning such limited time
our warming gift
small hands pressed into clay
art but a reflection
the way they once moved
--and grasped
T....
Losing Sight
You were the first person
I reached towards,
A single, shaking arm
Plunged into the thick
Fog of fresh grief.
You pulled me through
The first awful snow,
The first...
Morning Class in Washington, D.C.
A sparrow collides, fallsglass to concrete
Beak opens, body spasms.
A student looks:me, bird, back.
She wants instructions.
Touch the birdto do what?
Stun it...
Bellevue Library
I remember this library as hiddenin trees, perched on the hillside,pierced by birdsong.
I looked out from the second floorto see the oak trees,...
A SIMPLE MACHINEThe noose that was used to hang John Brown is allegedly in the permanent collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Frayed and wild...
The following poem was translated from Zarpamos, a selection ofpoems by the Oaxacan poet Guadalupe Ángela, translated from Spanishinto English by Yael Kiken. This...
