It’s the dream where I recite my social security number forwardsand backward before I can have sex. Isn’t that a pain? The sex robot isaccommodating and hints at numbers I stumble over like a teenagerrunning late for class. I always like hints. They are one of my favoritethings after Julie Andrews, long walks, big bands,... Continue Reading →
there is a small hill near my father’s homein San Antonio where a singlelamppost spreads a golden circleinto the night just barely catchingall four corners of the silentresidential intersection, all homesdark, all streets empty, palmsand salt grass cutting jagged edgesinto the midnight dark, remindingme of same such quiet walks inLos Angeles towns in outlyinghills, of... Continue Reading →
The lone algae eater, who somehowsurvives our neglect, hides inside a castle.When I tap the glass to see if he’sstill alive, I think about my little brother,who spends twenty-three hours a dayconfined to a 6 by 8 cell. When I openthe top and sprinkle in food, the fishrises up through the murky water to eat.Visiting... Continue Reading →
The part when I infiltrate the imperialist hive,But not the part when my wings fall offThe part when I can afford to shop at Target,But not the part when I still eat Taco BellThe part when my skin looks white,But not the part when it tans after a hikeThe part when I speak un poquito... Continue Reading →
I love you, Kumamoto. But my missions are in a state of decay. The limestoneaqueducts, once traversing proudly alongside the Piedras Creek, the ones thatpumped crystalline liquid into the mouths of my native born children, aredried. They too have crumbled under the heat of June air raids; they aremercury to the touch. A foolish child... Continue Reading →
I have an irrational fear in theshower when I close my eyes that ashark will burst through the tilewall and devour me wholePerhaps that’s because within thered waters in the chambers of myheart, there lurks a shark with anappetite unceasing till it hasswallowed every top floater aliveMy heart is encased in shark teeth,is a rubber... Continue Reading →
I’ve studied Shakespeare and read Hemingway. I’ve marveled at Poe and Hawthorne, Pynchon and Roth, Murakami and King, too. Philip Levine taught me the simple truth, and Pablo Neruda showed me love and despair. Rabindranath Tagore breathed light into my body, and Juan Felipe Herrera turned me on my cabeza. Bukowski? He just punched me... Continue Reading →
How do you want to be remembered by your students? And, moreimportantly, when?For your awards or accolades and only at the end?In some big ceremony, retirement, or a funeral attended by many,Which of those ways do I want to be remembered by my students? Not any.I want to be remembered during certain times by those... Continue Reading →
Recently I covered what has been by far the most difficult events of my young journalism career: a school board meeting. I’m an education reporter, and school board meetings feature regularly my calendar. Usually the primary challenge is staying awake.On that Monday night, the primary challenge was keeping my faith...
Where’d you learn to bend time like that?You found the portal on instinct.Our two mouths like black holes connecting,Lips and teeth and tongue markingThe fissure where solid time turns liquid,Where night stretchesIn communion with parked cars,Where street dogs gather their feast,Where we gather our longingAnd pass it back and forth,Like the best ball game ever... Continue Reading →
