Mixed materials is another way to create confusion.
Mixed materials is another way to infuse infusion.
Mixed materials is another way to have fun.
Mixed materials is another way to come undone.
Mixed materials gives me mixed feelings.
Mixed feelings is another way to say you hate it.
Mixed feelings is another way to say you love it.
Mixed feelings is another way to play the fool.
Mixed feelings is another way to mix the pool.
Mixed feelings gives me mixed feelings.
Mixed blood is another way to say mestizo.
Mixed blood is another way to say mulatto.
Mixed blood is another way to say What are you?
Mixed blood is another way to spill the blood.
Mixed blood gives me mixed feelings.
No matter what, this blood won’t wash away in the rain.
No matter what, this blood won’t burn away in the desert.
No matter what, this blood will flow to the beat of its own miracas.
No matter what, this blood will drink its own blood.
And that gives me mixed feelings.
-
Alex Z. Salinas is the author of three poetry collections and a book of stories, City Lights From the Upside Down (San Antonio Review Press), which was included in the National Book Critics Circle’s Critical Notes. His poetry collection Hispanic Sonnets (FlowerSong Press) is his latest book, with Trash Poems (Gnashing Teeth Publishing) forthcoming in 2023. Salinas holds an M.A. in English Literature and Language from St. Mary’s University, and lives in San Antonio, Texas.
