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  • Robert L. Giron

Issue 101 — Cacayo, John Schmidt

Cacayo


These poems are from an upcoming collection titled Our Delicate Flesh / Nuestra carne ligera.


Flora and Fauna


The plastic orchid stares dumbfounded,

mouth agape,

at how you launch yourself

into the night.



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Flora y fauna


La orquídea emplasticada se desvela

estupefacta, boquiabierta,

por la forma en que te entregas

por las noches.



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Lovers


The wind blows a plastic bag

snagged on a dead branch

full of melancholy.

When will her mad man return

to talk dirty to her?



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Amantes


Sacude su melancolía el viento

a una bolsa de plástico

en una rama seca.

¿Cuándo volverá su loquito

a gritarle porquerías?



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Tides


When you visit the sea of our youth,

I’m certain it is just as it ever was.

When you take me with you,

I know it has changed.



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Marea

Cuando tú visitas el mar de nuestra infancia,

estoy seguro de que está como siempre.

Cuando me llevas contigo,

sé que ha cambiado.



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Epigraph

you spring up on my momma’s couch

my fingernails long for soil

my mouth for dandelion

just a few hours before the last snow



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Epígrafe

apareces primaveral sobre un sofá de madre

siento en las uñas el barro venidero

y en la boca tu sabor a berro

a vísperas de la última nieve



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Bedtime Stories

Nominated for a Pushcart Prize


With an agent’s fervor

my son grills me about terror

and man’s nature.

Rules are broken,

I crack:

no one sleeps alone tonight.



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



Cuentos de cuna


Con fervor de agente,

mi hijo me interroga sobre el terror

y la naturaleza del hombre.

Hoy se violarán reglamentos:

nadie dormirá solo.



Copyright © 2017 by Cacayo.



About the Author

Cacayo is the author of the book of poetry titled Lovedust / Polvo enamorado (Izote Press, 2014). He co-edited the anthology Knocking on the Door of the White House: Latina and Latino Poets in Washington, DC. He is a published translator of poetry and is the co-founder and editor of the literary press Zozobra Publishing. He teaches at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.



John Schmidt


Speak!


One


poem


requested


that I allow


it to speak for all


the poems I have written


in the last many years. I


wondered what it would say. Strangely,


it spoke mostly of questions not yet


answered by poems in the last many years.



(Poetic form: Etheree, ten-line poem of increasing length, from one syllable to ten syllables in each line. No end rhymes. Etheree Taylor Armstrong was the originator.)



Copyright © 2017 by John Schmidt.



Timeless river, I


see you most in my own soul—


we share same secrets



(Poetic form: Haiku, Asian poem about Nature)



Copyright © 2017 by John Schmidt.



Origami sheet


folded my soul to reveal


the edges of faith



(Poetic form: Senryu, Asian poem about humanity)



Copyright © 2017 by John Schmidt.



About the Author

John Schmidt has published nineteen works, including Rock Solid Concrete Poems—Art Poems for the Heart, which has received more compliments than any book he has published. About ninety of his poems are in his latest release, Winner’s Wisdom–Eight-Week Devotional Using Poetry and Journaling to Express the Real You. The book combines the originality of poetry, carefully selected Bible verses, and insightful commentary to bring the reader to better relationship with God, other people, and himself. Both works are available via Amazon and at PathPublishing.com. He lives in Amarillo, Texas, and is the Membership Coordinator for the Hi-Plains Poetry Society and Inspirational Writers Alive!, Amarillo Chapter.


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