this morning
is your morning
pick up your bed
and walk
the old is gone
the new is
still in its cocoon
pick up your bed
pick up your heart
kick up your heals
and run
Poems
Ghosts Are More Territorial Than Cats
ghosts are more territorial than cats
I knew you wouldn’t
follow me
you prefer those same empty rooms with
mapaches
scratching at the screens
I felt you watch me pack the dishes
take down the pictures
put my cloths into suitcases
and take apart the bed
I assembled there
two and a half years ago when
you were a flesh and blood human
I didn’t know
de último
I stuffed the cats into cages and
took them away
yowling
they’re getting used to it here
already
they love me more than
my own ghost
ghosts are more territorial than cats
which is lucky
I could walk away and leave you there
you would never have left yourself
in spirit
the way you left in body
one cool dry dawn
sin mirar atrás
it was easier for me to go
the excuse about the inundaciones
is true and everyone knows it
I didn’t say adiós when I left
or hasta luego
either
I walked out the door
as silent as you
as silent as cats
I am not territorial
at all
I bolted the bed together in the new room
with no ghosts
put my shoes in the closet and
the spoons in the drawer
I’m home now
with my books and my
masa madre fermenting in the fridge
at night under the fan
I open the windows to the
sea breeze
and dream sweetly
of cats
The Bus Roared Like a Lion
when the bus pulled up
to take you away
to the airport
the driver who opened
the luggage hold for your
suitcases asked
where are you going
and said ustedes to us
even a stranger could see
in the half dark
we were nosotros
one two-headed creature
you answered
aeropuerto and kissed me
the bus swallowed you and
roared like a lion
as it tore us into
tú y yo
Walking at Midnight
hold present
our palms pressed together
our tender places
life lines locked
in a web of
tiny finger bones
hold present
the milky way
arched above us
our galaxies of capillaries
intertwined
as close as a
breath of skin
Conozco Islas
vámonos de aquí
dejemos atrás la tierra firme
echémonos al mar
nuestra cuna, casa, ataúd
y avancemos hacia el horizonte
con brazadas fuertes
no temamos baby
al sol, a la luna
a los espacios líquidos
desconocidos
vámonos de aquí
te ruego
conozco islas
que desde aquí no se ven
conozco los dragones
a la orilla del mundo
no despidámonos más
excepto de la tierra
donde nos raspa el aire y
nos atrapa la gravedad
A Poem For The Kiss / Un Poema Para El Beso / Un Poesia Per Il Bacio
there must be a poem
for the kiss
a quiet poem
a gentle kiss
the one you don’t remember
she presses her lips to
your warm forehead
a terrible journey
is over and
silence begins
now
another poem might say
you seem to be
only asleep, but
not this one
this poem has
watched you through
a thousand sleeps and
knows the difference
her lips press your forehead
this last time
trembling
the doctors have
turned off the morphine and
you are free of
this destroyed flesh
they will bring her
your ring, later
to keep
in the poem
with the kiss
Un Poema Para El Beso
debe haber un poema
para el beso
un poema silencioso
un beso suave
el que tu no recuerdas
ella aprieta sus labios a
tu frente cálida
un viaje terrible
se ha terminado y
el silencio comienza
ahora
otro poema podría decir que
pareces estar
solo dormido, pero
este no
este poema te ha vigilado
mil veces
mientras duermes y
conoce la diferencia
los labios de ella tocan tu frente
esta última vez
temblando
los doctores han
apagado la morfina y
estás libre de
esta carne destruida
luego, ellos le llevarán
tu anillo
a ella
para guardar
en el poema
con el beso
Una Poesia Per Il Bacio
ci dovrebbe essere una poesia
per il bacio
una poesia a sottovoce
un bacio delicato
l’unico che non ricordi
lei preme le sue labbra
sulla tua fronte calda,
un viaggio terribile
è finito e
il silenzio inizia
ora
un’altra poesia direbbe
che sembri
solo addormentato
ma non questa
questa poesia ti ha
guardato mentre dormivi
mille volte e
sa la differenza
le sue labbra ti toccano la fronte
l’ultima volta
tremando
i dottori ti hanno tolto
la morfina e
tu sei libero da
questa carne distrutta
le porteranno
il tuo anello più tardi
per conservarlo
nella poesia
con il bacio
Prey / Presa
catch me
in the fish trap
i offer my flesh
for your feast
in this way
i become you
i knit my body
into your bones
in 1000 years
we will be together
still
in single grains of sand
*some hunting cultures suggest that prey voluntarily yields to the hunter as part of the circle of life—a rarely-recognized form of love
PREY / PRESA
pésqueme
en la trampa para peces
ofrezco mi carne
para saciar tu hambre
de este modo
me convierto en tí
tejo mi cuerpo
dentro de tus huesos
en mil años
estarémos juntos
todavía
en granitos de arena
*algunas culturas de caza sugieren que la presa cede por voluntad propia al cazador como parte del ciclo de la vida–una forma poco reconocido del amor
I’m Lying in my Hammock When I Hear the Phone
(poem #2 in a series in progress)
I’m lying in my hammock when
I hear the phone
make a cricket sound
it’s you
you found me
you want to be my friend
I’m lying in my hammock when
I hear the phone
make a cricket sound
it’s you
saying hola
and I answer
because I always do
because your hair is curly and
your eyes are blue and
I am lying in my hammock
with the cats
you tell me things that
are the answers to
questions I haven’t asked
I’m lying in my hammock when
I hear the phone
make a cricket sound
it’s you
you ask me questions that
have long answers so I
summarize
you say you like me
I tell you
you don’t know me
I say it because I’m scared
because I do know me, and
there are crickets in my phone
at night I dream of cats
you have only imagined me
you have no idea
The Country of Forbidden Words / La Tierra de Las Palabras Prohibidas
you have transported me to
the country of forbidden words.
when you see me
bite my lip
can you read them
in my eyes?
they swim like fish
inside my body
surfacing then diving
in this country of
forbidden words
all the road signs say
stop
other instruction
is forbidden
the sun rises on our silences
on what exists unspoken
on what twists inside
but must not be born
La Tierra de Las Palabras Prohibidas
me has transportado a
la tierra de las palabras prohibidas.
cuando me ves
morder el labio
las lees
en mis ojos?
nadan como peces
adentro de me cuerpo
entre la superficie y las profundidades
en esta tierra de
las palabras prohibidas
todas las señales de tránsito dicen
alto
otra instrucción
es prohibida
el sol sube sobre mis silencios
sobre lo que existe sin pronunciarse
sobre lo que retuerce por dentro
pero no debe nacer
Follow Me
follow me
to the brackish places
where warm muck mixes
with ocean salt and
last week’s rain
this is where land crabs
make their burrows
little fish hatch between
rotting twigs and
baby crocodiles wait,
their eyes floating like
bubbles at the surface,
for the return of their
hunting mothers
Sígueme
sígueme
a los lugares salobres
donde el lodo caliente se mezcla
con la sal del mar y
lluvias de la semana pasada
aquí es donde los cangrejos
hacen sus hoyos
pecesitos nacen entre
ramas podridas y
cocodrilos infantes esperan,
sus ojos flotando como
burbujas en la superficie,
sus madres que andan
de caza
Poems with Safe Places
let there be poems
with safe places
poems with doors that close
with cats on the bed
shade tress and
sunday mornings when
no one is
outside
let there be poems with
pillows
curtains
clocks that move slowly
and rain clouds to
cover the
blinding sky
Poemas con Lugares Seguros
que existan poemas
con lugares seguros
poemas con puertas que se cierran
con gatos en la cama
con arboles que den sombra y
las mañanas de domingo cuando
no hay nadie
afuera
que existan poemas con
almohadas
cortinas
relojes que caminan lentamente
y nubes de lluvia
para cubrir
el cielo cegador
Obedient to the Moon / Obediente a la Luna
watch the horizon
move toward it when
arching water beckons
expect the unexpected
expect to have to try
rain falls on the jungle
even when you are sleeping
even after you die
then slides through roots
to the ocean
watch water
study how it pushes through air
fierce and gentle
all of this
obedient to the moon
Obediente a la Luna
mira el horizonte
acércate a él cuando
el agua se arquea, llamando
espera lo inesperado
espera deber intentar
la lluvia cae sobre la jungla
aun cuando duermes
aun después de que mueras
luego se desliza a través de raíces
hacia mar
observa el agua
estudia cómo empuja contra el aire
feroz y delicado
todo esto
obediente a la luna
Hablando Sola / Talking to Myself 