On Their Eightieth Birthday
dedicated to the Governor of Arizona
His aunt thinks she’s a tapestry?
—First she thought she was a Tapir,
then a pole. I stuffed a butt plug in her mouth,
but she asked for a loincloth.
She fell in love with my skin, wanted to peel
it, peel me—Our lady of the Broken Condoms,
Latina Americana gringa wanna be
with the sagging breast implants.
What was he doing with gunpowder in his pockets?
—You know why he wears those tight pants!
Yeah, but if you stare at his tray
he calls you every urban word he ever learned
from Justin Timberlake.
—Baby he needs to go back to school
before he bad-mouth’s me.
Jell and visits to the hairdresser
twice a month to put on those caramel
highlights...metro-sexual? I don’t think so.
snap-snap - zip-zip
—Girl, she empties his wallet
before putting on those condom every time.
Dumbass gringo wanna be.
—Um-hum, like Osvaldo Del Rio!
No, that’s the Puerto Rican Actor
that beats up his women.
You know, I’m talking about,
that Mexican guy from Univision,
Fernando Del Rincón.
He can brush his hair back all he wants,
he’s still going to look like a mestizo.
To the Crying Venusians
dedicated to Ashley Santiago and Steven López Mercad
My skin shrieks,
a cave dweller notified
of yet another death,
filaments by which the eagerness
of penguins annihilate the last threads
of memories dwindling in oceanic twilight.
I did not want to leave
a trail for redheaded dragons
with fiery tongues to terrify
empty lighthouses,
meadows and the jingles
of readers on my day
of resurrection.
Queen Lazarus unwraps
my feet with the grace
of a deer tutoring my hands
in the art of dying.
Daddy, daddy, daddy
my knees are skin and bone.
I wear a pink triangle
and numbers tattooed
around my ankle.
THE AUTHOR
Sergio Ortiz is an educator, poet, and photographer. He has a B.A. in English literature, and a M.A. in philosophy. His photographs have been published or are forthcoming in: W5RAn.com, The Neglected Ratio, and The Monongahela Review. He was recently published, or is forthcoming in: The Battered Suitcase, Poor Mojo's Almanac(k), WTF PWM, The 13th Warrior Review, Dark Lady Poetry, and Writers’ Bloc. Flutter Press published his debut chapbook, At the Tail End of Dusk (2009). Ronin Press will publish his second chapbook: Topography of a Desire, due out in May.
dedicated to the Governor of Arizona
His aunt thinks she’s a tapestry?
—First she thought she was a Tapir,
then a pole. I stuffed a butt plug in her mouth,
but she asked for a loincloth.
She fell in love with my skin, wanted to peel
it, peel me—Our lady of the Broken Condoms,
Latina Americana gringa wanna be
with the sagging breast implants.
What was he doing with gunpowder in his pockets?
—You know why he wears those tight pants!
Yeah, but if you stare at his tray
he calls you every urban word he ever learned
from Justin Timberlake.
—Baby he needs to go back to school
before he bad-mouth’s me.
Jell and visits to the hairdresser
twice a month to put on those caramel
highlights...metro-sexual? I don’t think so.
snap-snap - zip-zip
—Girl, she empties his wallet
before putting on those condom every time.
Dumbass gringo wanna be.
—Um-hum, like Osvaldo Del Rio!
No, that’s the Puerto Rican Actor
that beats up his women.
You know, I’m talking about,
that Mexican guy from Univision,
Fernando Del Rincón.
He can brush his hair back all he wants,
he’s still going to look like a mestizo.
To the Crying Venusians
dedicated to Ashley Santiago and Steven López Mercad
My skin shrieks,
a cave dweller notified
of yet another death,
filaments by which the eagerness
of penguins annihilate the last threads
of memories dwindling in oceanic twilight.
I did not want to leave
a trail for redheaded dragons
with fiery tongues to terrify
empty lighthouses,
meadows and the jingles
of readers on my day
of resurrection.
Queen Lazarus unwraps
my feet with the grace
of a deer tutoring my hands
in the art of dying.
Daddy, daddy, daddy
my knees are skin and bone.
I wear a pink triangle
and numbers tattooed
around my ankle.
THE AUTHOR
Sergio Ortiz is an educator, poet, and photographer. He has a B.A. in English literature, and a M.A. in philosophy. His photographs have been published or are forthcoming in: W5RAn.com, The Neglected Ratio, and The Monongahela Review. He was recently published, or is forthcoming in: The Battered Suitcase, Poor Mojo's Almanac(k), WTF PWM, The 13th Warrior Review, Dark Lady Poetry, and Writers’ Bloc. Flutter Press published his debut chapbook, At the Tail End of Dusk (2009). Ronin Press will publish his second chapbook: Topography of a Desire, due out in May.
RSS Feed
