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Hal Loyd Denton Jan 2012
The Isle of Print
What a place it can take you anyplace you can meet anyone I met Sandra Locke when she wrote about
Her relationship then her break up with Clint she told about as a child how she sold pop bottles at a
General store that was one that took me back but even more exciting was where she was at a place
Called Shelbyville Tennessee I know it firsthand one reason it is seventy miles from Nashville and is the
Tennessee walking horse capital and all so my wife was born and raised there until she was six we would
Take trips there quiet often until two trips we carried her parents to the family cemetery on horse
Mountain we have my wife’s brother fighting Leukemia he said thats where he wants to be buried but for
Now God’s mercy is preventing that I met a guy and I’m sure you have met him many times also his
Name is Samuel Clemens he got a little more famous name when he had one of his many jobs as a Mississippi
River boat captain they called him just like when they measured the rivers depth mark twain he was a
News paper editor in Calaveras County he brought a simple frog leaping contest national notoriety for
Ever after known as the Calaveras bull frog jumping contest I bought three acres for retirement
Unfortunately I made like a bull frog and jumped off the property I drove a truck several times into
Hannibal Missouri you got a quick leap in your heart and head as you thought about the great river
Running by and all of the characters Twain created two losses are recorded there of course twain met
A fiery personage that was even greater than him a space traveler with a glory all together wondrous went by
The name of Haley the other less known but my heart slows when I think of her eight years old blond
Blue eyed her father’s and mother’s pride and joy he was a pastor in northern Illinois she lays in her
Sacred rest in Hannibal until that great waking up day as time goes on I get less and less patient if it
Weren’t for so many precious ones in danger I would be tempted to pray come Lord Jesus. Well not done
By any means just going to stop for now plan on going and doing some hard thinking
Krusty Aranda Nov 2014
Hoy que es día de los muertos
quisiera recordar a mis amigos,
a aquellos que están perdidos,
que nos dejaron de improvisto.

Alex con sus gritos
a cualquiera impresionaba,
mas poseía un alma noble
y seguro lo demostraba.

La muerte siendo injusta,
traicionera y juguetona
le hizo perder el equilibrio
para no jugar más sola.

Daniela guapa era.
Coqueta y encantadora.
A los hombres enloquecía
en cuestión de pocas horas.

La muerte, por celosa,
le echó una maldición.
Ahora les encanta
desde el mismísimo panteón.

Al pequeño, alegre Ivan
el futbol volvía loco.
El Barça su pasión
y un partido dentro de poco.

La muerte en su equipo
carecía de un defensor,
y pensó en el joven Ivan
para su equipo ganador.

Aunque hoy se encuentren lejos
los llevamos en el corazón,
mas no dejan de ser calaveras,
calaveras del montón.
Mexican tradition for día de los muertos. I miss you guys.
wordvango Aug 2017
Well, thish-yer Smiley had rat-tarriers, and chicken *****, and tom- cats, and all of them kind of things, till you couldn't rest, and you couldn't fetch nothing for him to bet on but he'd match you. He ketched a frog one day, and took him home, and said he cal'klated to edercate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. And you bet you he did learn him, too. He'd give him a little punch behind, and the next minute you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut see him turn one summerset, or may be a couple, if he got a good start, and come down flat-footed and all right, like a cat. He got him up so in the matter of catching flies, and kept him in practice so constant, that he'd nail a fly every time as far as he could see him. Smiley said all a frog wanted was education, and he could do most any thing and I believe him. Why, I've seen him set Dan'l Webster down here on this floor Dan'l Webster was the name of the frog and sing out, "Flies, Dan'l, flies!" and quicker'n you could wink, he'd spring straight up, and snake a fly off'n the counter there, and flop down on the floor again as solid as a gob of mud, and fall to scratching the side of his head with his hind foot as indifferent as if he hadn't no idea he'd been doin' any more'n any frog might do. You never see a frog so modest and straightforward as he was, for all he was so gifted. And when it come to fair and square jumping on a dead level, he could get over more ground at one straddle than any animal of his breed you ever see. Jumping on a dead level was his strong suit, you understand; and when it come to that, Smiley would ante up money on him as long as he had a red. Smiley was monstrous proud of his frog, and well he might be, for fellers that had traveled and been everywheres, all said he laid over any frog that ever they see.


Mark Twain
three of my favorite paragraphs of Mark's
Salen los niños alegres
De la escuela,
Poniendo en el aire tibio
Del abril, canciones tiernas.
¡Que alegría tiene el hondo
Silencio de la calleja!
Un silencio hecho pedazos
por risas de plata nueva.

Voy camino de la tarde
Entre flores de la huerta,
Dejando sobre el camino
El agua de mi tristeza.
En el monte solitario
Un cementerio de aldea
Parece un campo sembrado
Con granos de calaveras.
Y han florecido cipreses
Como gigantes cabezas
Que con órbitas vacías
Y verdosas cabelleras
Pensativos y dolientes
El horizonte contemplan.
¡Abril divino, que vienes
Cargado de sol y esencias
Llena con nidos de oro
Las floridas calaveras!
wordvango Aug 2017
and he had a little small bull pup, that to look at him you'd think he wan's worth a cent, but to set around and look ornery, and lay for a chance to steal something. But as soon as money was up on him, he was a different dog; his underjaw'd begin to stick out like the fo'castle of a steamboat, and his teeth would uncover, and shine savage like the furnaces. And a dog might tackle him, and bully- rag him, and bite him, and throw him over his shoulder two or three times, and Andrew Jackson which was the name of the pup Andrew Jackson would never let on but what he was satisfied, and hadn't expected nothing else and the bets being doubled and doubled on the other side all the time, till the money was all up; and then all of a sudden he would grab that other dog jest by the j'int of his hind leg and freeze on it not chew, you understand, but only jest grip and hang on till they thronged up the sponge, if it was a year. Smiley always come out winner on that pup, till he harnessed a dog once that didn't have no hind legs, because they'd been sawed off by a circular saw, and when the thing had gone along far enough, and the money was all up, and he come to make a ****** for his pet bolt, he saw in a minute how he'd been imposed on, and how the other dog had him in the door, so to speak, and he 'peered sur- prised, and then he looked sorter discouraged-like, and didn't try no more to win the fight, and so he got shucked out bad. He give Smiley a look, as much as to say his heart was broke, and it was his fault, for putting up a dog that hadn't no hind legs for him to take bolt of, which was his main dependence in a fight, and then he limped off a piece and laid down and died. It was a good pup, was that Andrew Jackson, and would have made a name for hisself if he'd lived, for the stuff was in him, and he had genius I know it, because he hadn't had no opportunities to speak of, and it don't stand to reason that a dog could make such a fight as he could under them circumstances, if he hadn't no talent. It always makes me feel sorry when I think of that last fight of his'n, and the way it turned out.


Mark Twain
Con efecto mundial de vela que se enciende,
el prepucio directo, hombres a golpes,
funcionan los labriegos a tiro de neblina,
con alabadas barbas,
pie práctico y reginas sinceras de los valles.

Hablan como les vienen las palabras,
cambian ideas bebiendo
orden sacerdotal de una botella;
cambian también ideas tras de un árbol, parlando
de escrituras privadas, de la luna menguante
y de los ríos públicos! (Inmenso! Inmenso! Inmenso!)

Función de fuerza
sorda y de zarza ardiendo,
paso de palo,
gesto de palo,
acápitcs de palo,
la palabra colgando de otro palo.

De sus hombros arranca, carne a carne, la herramienta florecida,
de sus rodillas bajan ellos mismos por etapas hasta el cielo,
y, agitando
y
agitando sus faltas en forma de antiguas calaveras,
levantan sus defectos capitales con cintas,
su mansedumbre y sus
vasos sanguíneos, tristes, de jueces colorados.

Tienen su cabeza, su tronco, sus extremidades,
tienen su pantalón, sus dedos metacarpos y un palito;
para comer vistiéronse de altura
y se lavan la cara acariciándose con sólidas palomas.

Por cierto, aquestos hombres
cumplen años en los peligros,
echan toda la frente en sus salutaciones;
carecen de reloj, no se jactan jamás de respirar
y, en fin, suelen decirse: Allá, las putas, Luis Taboada, los ingleses;
allá ellos, allá ellos, allá ellos!
Los caballos negros son.
Las herraduras son negras.
Sobre las capas relucen
manchas de tinta y de cera.
Tienen, por eso no lloran,
de plomo las calaveras.
Con el alma de charol
vienen por la carretera.
Jorobados y nocturnos,
por donde animan ordenan
silencios de goma oscura
y miedos de fina arena.
Pasan, si quieren pasar,
y ocultan en la cabeza
una vaga astronomía
de pistolas inconcretas.

¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
En las esquinas banderas.
La luna y la calabaza
con las guindas en conserva.
¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
¿Quién te vió y no te recuerda?
Ciudad de dolor y almizcle,
con las torres de canela.

Cuando llegaba la noche,
noche que noche nochera,
los gitanos en sus fraguas
forjaban soles y flechas.
Un caballo malherido,
llamaba a todas las puertas.
Gallos de vidrio cantaban
por Jerez de la Frontera.
El viento, vuelve desnudo
la esquina de la sorpresa,
en la noche platinoche
noche, que noche nochera.

La Virgen y San José
perdieron sus castañuelas,
y buscan a los gitanos
para ver si las encuentran.
La Virgen viene vestida
con un traje de alcaldesa,
de papel de chocolate
con los collares de almendras.
San José mueve los brazos
bajo una capa de seda.
Detrás va Pedro Domecq
con tres sultanes de Persia.
La media luna, soñaba
un éxtasis de cigüeña.
Estandartes y faroles
invaden las azoteas.
Por los espejos sollozan
bailarinas sin caderas.
Agua y sombra, sombra y agua
por Jerez de la Frontera.

¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
En las esquinas banderas.
Apaga tus verdes luces
que viene la benemérita.
¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
¿Quién te vio y no te recuerda?
Dejadla lejos del mar,
sin peines para sus crenchas.

Avanzan de dos en fondo
a la ciudad de la fiesta.
Un rumor de siemprevivas
invade las cartucheras.
Avanzan de dos en fondo.
Doble nocturno de tela.
El cielo, se les antoja,
una vitrina de espuelas.

La ciudad libre de miedo,
multiplicaba sus puertas.
Cuarenta guardias civiles
entran a saco por ellas.
Los relojes se pararon,
y el coñac de las botellas
se disfrazó de noviembre
para no infundir sospechas.
Un vuelo de gritos largos
se levantó en las veletas.
Los sables cortan las brisas
que los cascos atropellan.
Por las calles de penumbra
huyen las gitanas viejas
con los caballos dormidos
y las orzas de monedas.
Por las calles empinadas
suben las capas siniestras,
dejando detrás fugaces
remolinos de tijeras.
En el portal de Belén
los gitanos se congregan.
San José, lleno de heridas,
amortaja a una doncella.
Tercos fusiles agudos
por toda la noche suenan.
La Virgen cura a los niños
con salivilla de estrella.
Pero la Guardia Civil
avanza sembrando hogueras,
donde joven y desnuda
la imaginación se quema.
Rosa la de los Camborios,
gime sentada en su puerta
con sus dos pechos cortados
puestos en una bandeja.
Y otras muchachas corrían
perseguidas por sus trenzas,
en un aire donde estallan
rosas de pólvora negra.
Cuando todos los tejados
eran surcos en la tierra,
el alba meció sus hombros
en largo perfil de piedra.

¡Oh, ciudad de los gitanos!
La Guardia Civil se aleja
por un túnel de silencio
mientras las llamas te cercan.

¡Oh, ciudad de los gitanos!
¿Quién te vio y no te recuerda?
Que te busquen en mi frente.
juego de luna y arena.
Está la plaza sombría;
muere el día.
Suenan lejos las campanas.
    De balcones y ventanas
se iluminan las vidrieras,
con reflejos mortecinos,
como huesos blanquecinos
y borrosas calaveras.
    En toda la tarde brilla
una luz de pesadilla.
Está el sol en el ocaso.
Suena el eco de mi paso.
    -¿Eres tú?  Ya te esperaba...
-No eras tú a quien yo buscaba.
Atraviesa la muerte con herrumbrosas lanzas,
y en traje de cañón, las parameras
donde cultiva el hombre raíces y esperanzas,
y llueve sal, y esparce calaveras.
Verdura de las eras,
¿qué tiempo prevalece la alegría?
El sol pudre la sangre, la cubre de asechanzas
y hace brotar la sombra más sombría.
El dolor y su manto
vienen una vez más a nuestro encuentro.
Y una vez más al callejón del llanto
lluviosamente entro.
Siempre me veo dentro
de esta sombra de acíbar revocada,
amasado con ojos y bordones,
que un candil de agonía tiene puesto a la entrada
y un rabioso collar de corazones.
Llorar dentro de un pozo,
en la misma raíz desconsolada
del agua, del sollozo,
del corazón quisiera:
donde nadie me viera la voz ni la mirada,
ni restos de mis lágrimas me viera.
Entro despacio, se me cae la frente
despacio, el corazón se me desgarra
despacio, y despaciosa y negramente
vuelvo a llorar al pie de una guitarra.
Entre todos los muertos de elegía,
sin olvidar el eco de ninguno,
por haber resonado más en el alma mía,
la mano de mi llanto escoge uno.
Federico García
hasta ayer se llamó: polvo se llama.
Ayer tuvo un espacio bajo el día
que hoy el hoyo le da bajo la grama.
¡Tanto fue! ¡Tanto fuiste y ya no eres!
Tu agitada alegría,
que agitaba columnas y alfileres,
de tus dientes arrancas y sacudes,
y ya te pones triste, y sólo quieres
ya el paraíso de los ataúdes.
Vestido de esqueleto,
durmiéndote de plomo,
de indiferencia armado y de respeto,
te veo entre tus cejas si me asomo.
Se ha llevado tu vida de palomo,
que ceñía de espuma
y de arrullos el cielo y las ventanas,
como un raudal de pluma
el viento que se lleva las semanas.
Primo de las manzanas,
no podrá con tu savia la carcoma,
no podrá con tu muerte la lengua del gusano,
y para dar salud fiera a su poma
elegirá tus huesos el manzano.
Cegado el manantial de tu saliva,
hijo de la paloma,
nieto del ruiseñor y de la oliva:
serás, mientras la tierra vaya y vuelva,
esposo siempre de la siempreviva,
estiércol padre de la madreselva.
¡Qué sencilla es la muerte: qué sencilla,
pero qué injustamente arrebatada!
No sabe andar despacio, y acuchilla
cuando menos se espera su turbia cuchillada.
Tú, el más firme edificio, destruido,
tú, el gavilán más alto, desplomado,
tú, el más grande rugido,
callado, y más callado, y más callado.
Caiga tu alegre sangre de granado,
como un derrumbamiento de martillos feroces,
sobre quien te detuvo mortalmente.
Salivazos y hoces
caigan sobre la mancha de su frente.
Muere un poeta y la creación se siente
herida y moribunda en las entrañas.
Un cósmico temblor de escalofríos
mueve temiblemente las montañas,
un resplandor de muerte la matriz de los ríos.
Oigo pueblos de ayes y valles de lamentos,
veo un bosque de ojos nunca enjutos,
avenidas de lágrimas y mantos:
y en torbellino de hojas y de vientos,
lutos tras otros lutos y otros lutos,
llantos tras otros llantos y otros llantos.
No aventarán, no arrastrarán tus huesos,
volcán de arrope, trueno de panales,
poeta entretejido, dulce, amargo,
que al calor de los besos
sentiste, entre dos largas hileras de puñales,
largo amor, muerte larga, fuego largo.
Por hacer a tu muerte compañía,
vienen poblando todos los rincones
del cielo y de la tierra bandadas de armonía,
relámpagos de azules vibraciones.
Crótalos granizados a montones,
batallones de flautas, panderos y gitanos,
ráfagas de abejorros y violines,
tormentas de guitarras y pianos,
irrupciones de trompas y clarines.
Pero el silencio puede más que tanto instrumento.
Silencioso, desierto, polvoriento
en la muerte desierta,
parece que tu lengua, que tu aliento,
los ha cerrado el golpe de una puerta.
Como si paseara con tu sombra,
paseo con la mía
por una tierra que el silencio alfombra,
que el ciprés apetece más sombría.
Rodea mi garganta tu agonía
como un hierro de horca
y pruebo una bebida funeraria.
Tú sabes, Federico García Lorca,
que soy de los que gozan una muerte diaria.
La España de charanga y pandereta,
cerrado y sacristía,
devota de Frascuelo y de María,
de espíritu burlón y alma quieta,
ha de tener su mármol y su día,
su infalible mañana y su poeta.
En vano ayer engendrará un mañana
vacío y por ventura pasajero.
Será un joven lechuzo y tarambana,
un sayón con hechuras de bolero,
a la moda de Francia realista
un poco al uso de París pagano
y al estilo de España especialista
en el vicio al alcance de la mano.
Esa España inferior que ora y bosteza,
vieja y tahúr, zaragatera y triste;
esa España inferior que ora y embiste,
cuando se digna usar la cabeza,
aún tendrá luengo parto de varones
amantes de sagradas tradiciones
y de sagradas formas y maneras;
florecerán las barbas apostólicas,
y otras calvas en otras calaveras
brillarán, venerables y católicas.
El vano ayer engendrará un mañana
vacío y ¡por ventura! pasajero,
la sombra de un lechuzo tarambana,
de un sayón con hechuras de bolero;
el vacuo ayer dará un mañana huero.
Como la náusea de un borracho ahíto
de vino malo, un rojo sol corona
de heces turbias las cumbres de granito;
hay un mañana estomagante escrito
en la tarde pragmática y dulzona.
Mas otra España nace,
la España del cincel y de la maza,
con esa eterna juventud que se hace
del pasado macizo de la raza.
Una España implacable y redentora,
España que alborea
con un hacha en la mano vengadora,
España de la rabia y de la idea.
zozek Jul 2021
The luring incense
And the delicious aroma releasing fragrance
Of the Marigold
Spreads a delicately divine immortality
Through all its vivid and dense orange, red and yellow bright colors
Reflecting the sun and the light
Fully warm, joyful, and happy
In a sphere of fresh and all summer-y, edible melon-like
Aura
And the saffron like sweet and tasty threads bring in a golden hue
of The Muse
With its charming and “rousing the dead” use
On the Dia de los muertos

Todos somos calaveras
Traveling through the circle of life
The noise-making shells and bells
On the single candle burning canoes
Passing under all orange and purple papel picados
Eating slices of the luscious bone-shaped and anise and orange smelling pan de muertos

Silently slanting my orange and red marigold throned head
I weep under the sugar skull painted mask hiding my face
Deprived of the pride that you were once mine
Shadowing the ******* mortal belligerent jealousy
I grieve that you now wed yourself to Catrina
In despair, I mourn like the seasonal and fragile marigold
That has lost all its enticing
Pleasure and attraction
No longer able to fascinate your soul
Nor, ****** or induce  
The withering Marigold,
The Muse mourning
That once coaxed you out of death
el pobre butch butchanam pasó sus años últimos
cuidando a una tórtola ciega y sin querer ver a nadie
en solidaridad con el pájaro al que amaba y cuidaba
y a veces aleteaba en su hombro dejando caer
un dulce sonido a naranjos azules girando por el cielo
a demonios de pie sobre un ratón
a monos de piedra sorprendidos en el acto de hacer
"oh tórtola" decía butch butchanam. "amas la ceguera
y yo convertí mi corazón en ceguera
para que vueles alrededor de él y te quedes"
pero lo que debe desaparecer
todo lo que se masca come chupa bebe o saborea,
venía con el crepúsculo y tristeza para butch
tristeza para butch.
el cual:
soñaba con el desierto sembrado de calaveras de vaca
los castillos de arena instantánea o polvo rápidamente
quieto en tierra
los oleajes (como de serpiente) del tiempo en Melody
Spring
y los antepasados que ya no conocían el dolor ni el dolor
de la muerte
y hablaban un idioma lento amarillo feliz
como un lazo de oro en el cuello
noches y noches soñó butch butchanam
hasta que supo que iba a morir
enfiló su cama hacia el sur y se acostó de espaldas al cielo
y dejó escrito en la tórtola que lo enterraran de espaldas
al cielo
y aquí yace de espaldas al cielo mirando todo lo que baja
y sube en Melody pueblo de miserables que:
degollaron la tórtola la asaron la comieron
y comprobaron con cristiano horror
que los miraba desde el plato
con el recuerdo de sus ojos
Amante abandonado por una infiel amada,
¿Por qué los puños alzas torvo y airado al cielo?
¿Por qué la frente inclinas con hondo desconsuelo
y como loco miras y no ambicionas nada?

¿Por qué te desesperas? ¿Por qué?... Porque
admirada
Pasa; porque es hermosa; porque tu ardiente anhelo
Fue su amor y ahuyentaban tus sombras y tu duelo
Los besos de su boca, la luz de su mirada.

Al recordar su rostro tiemblas y palideces,
y al juzgar que a otro ama, de celos te estremeces,
Porque embriagan tu mente sus hechizos fatales.

Me das lástima, ¡oh mártir de un amor sin ventura!
La vida pasa pronto, fugaz es la hermosura...
¡Piensa en las calaveras, que todas son iguales!
wordvango Aug 2017
Thish-yer Smiley had a mare the boys called her the fifteen- minute nag, but that was only in fun, you know, because, of course, she was faster than that and he used to win money on that horse, for all she was so slow and always had the asthma, or the distemper, or the consumption, or something of that kind. They used to give her two or three hundred yards start, and then pass her under way; but always at the ***-end of the race she'd get excited and desperate- like, and come cavorting and straddling up, and scattering her legs around limber, sometimes in the air, and sometimes out to one side amongst the fences, and kicking up m-o-r-e dust, and raising m-o-r-e racket with her coughing and sneezing and blowing her nose and always fetch up at the stand just about a neck ahead, as near as you could cipher it down.


Mark Twain
I would like to post the whole thing ....but
Ya que tu voz, como un muelle vapor, me baña
y mis ojos, tributos a la eterna guadaña,
por ti osan mirar de frente el ataúd;
ya que tu abrigo rojo me otorga una delicia
que es mitad friolenta, mitad cardenalicia,
antes que en la veleta llore el póstumo alud;
ya que por ti ha lanzado a la Muerte su reto
la cerviz animosa del ardido esqueleto
predestinado al hierro del fúnebre dogal;
te honro en el espanto de una perdida alcoba
de nigromante, en que tu yerta faz se arroba
sobre una tibia, como sobre un cabezal;
y porque eres, Amada, la armoniosa elegida
de mi sangre, sintiendo que la convulsa vida
es un puente de abismo en que vamos tú y yo,
mis besos te recorren en devotas hileras
encima de un sacrílego manto de calaveras
como sobre una erótica ficha de dominó.
Rajinder Apr 2018
Dark designs
dancing skulls
cover her apron,
a talisman
warding evil eyes.

Queen Meek-teka-see
rules over bones, on
Day of the Dead.

During day
swallowing stars,
at night gulping
nectar of rising sun
she spews spirits
possessed by her.

Calaveras eteched
over tombstones,
frozen candle flames,
capture souls
under black moon.

The living crawl
to her altar
offering
another skull
to the dark blue apron.
Cuando llegue la luna llena
iré a Santiago de Cuba,
iré a Santiago,
en un coche de agua negra.
Iré a Santiago.
Cantarán los techos de palmera.
Iré a Santiago.
Cuando la palma quiere ser cigüefla,
iré a Santiago.
Y cuando quiere ser medusa el plátano,
iré a Santiago.
Iré a Santiago
con la rubia cabeza de Fonseca.
Iré a Santiago.
Y con la rosa de Romeo y Julieta
iré a Santiago.
¡Oh Cuba! ¡Oh ritmo de semillas secas!
Iré a Santiago.
¡Oh cintura caliente y gota de madera!
Iré a Santiago.
¡Arpa de troncos vivos, caimán, flor de tabaco!
Iré a Santiago.
Siempre he dicho que yo iría a Santiago
en un coche de agua negra.
Iré a Santiago.
Brisa y alcohol en las ruedas,
iré a Santiago.
Mi coral en la tiniebla,
iré a Santiago.
El mar ahogado en la arena,
iré a Santiago,
calor blanco, fruta muerta,
iré a Santiago.
¡Oh bovino frescor de calaveras!
¡Oh Cuba! ¡Oh curva de suspiro y barro!
Iré a Santiago.
X
Me he perdido muchas veces por el mar
con el oído lleno de flores recién cortadas.
Con la lengua llena de amor y de agonía
muchas veces me he perdido por el mar,
como me pierdo en el corazón de algunos niños.
No hay nadie que al dar un beso
no sienta la sonrisa de la gente sin rostro,
ni nadie que al tocar un recién nacido
olvide las inmóviles calaveras de caballo.
Porque las rosas buscan en la frente
un duro paisaje de hueso
y las manos del hombre no tienen más sentido
que imitar a las raíces bajo tierra.
Como me pierdo en el corazón de algunos niños,
me he perdido muchas veces por el mar.
Ignorante del agua, voy buscando
una muerte de luz que me consuma.
Jr Mar 2018
reposo en el descenso continuo de la promesa de tus brazos
si me apresuro y caigo,
más no consigo alivio de mis dudas
sí te amo,
si me amas?

resulta imposible decirlo, un tierno beso duele a veces más
que un puñal frío
a veces se siente más
dulce

otoño ensució el paisaje de nuestras cabezas
y desarropó las esperanzas
sumidos en un desierto sin fin de calaveras
encontré la luz en las rendijas de tu pelo

bastó un diluvio en las máscaras
bastó un incendio en las caderas
Ari Apr 2020
I build an altar, parade in the streets
**** on a sugar skull, stamp on your grave.  
I want to weep, but instead I write
words like skeletons that leap and click their heels
grinning with jaws of orange like choked marigolds.

I wear a warren of jade, a den of ivory, a lair of shells
to wake the dead with a dance.

Why do the catrinas resemble you as you live?
Why do the calaveras still smile and tip their
top hats mockingly at your tombstone?
  
Alone in the colors and candles, I row this mariposa
dipping my paddle like sugarcane in taffy
reverberating grief like a sack of chattering teeth.

From Ocotepec to Patzcuaro, masks mourn
their losses, stars are pulled from the night
islands are invaded, bones rattle like marionettes
bells seek their towers, corpses leave their caskets
crosses fly like kites, feet clap in a frenzy
mayors deliver speeches, waves stutter ponderously
souls are exhumed from tobacco smoke
yellow ribbons cascade from the deaths heads
and we all dance like madmen, the dead grieving
the living and the living grieving life.

Is this the red chaos that you gulped down, the
dagger that distended your stomach?
Who draws from the pail that draws from your well?

Your body is half water.
You will rise with the moon and pass as we all dance like madmen.
An involuntary spasm
of the diaphragm
and respiratory organs,
with a sudden closure
of the glottis
and a characteristic
sound like that of a cough.

Rather mundane topic
lest one cursed
with said minor inconvenience
that subsequently manifests
into protracted health crisis.

I write much hiccup ado
about nothing, which
involuntary explosive release
comes clear out of the hiccup blue
nary a sponge bob
square pants handy dandy blues clue,
where in tarnation
this uncontrollable bout
jarring the Jimmy Neutron body
electric all's well
that ends well hiccup do.

Why such physiological
spasmodic trembling
undulating weird phenomena
uncontrollable peculiar singultus kickstarts,
where one of many
extreme measures now suggested
such as ramming cloven hoofs
down the gullet wool shear
lee be in vain
to bring closure of glottis hiccups ewe

you wool sheepishly  
moost likely find annoying
as this hiccupping buck feels few
breaths short of taking
another potential drastic action…
like hiccup swallowing glue
as an extreme solution
wide whirled, webbed series
of being held hostage
resorting to asking Horton hears a Who

to stomp his elephant legs
(also known as hottentot bread)
atop thee abdominal chest
(me not ribbing ye dear reader)
despite impossible mission
to escape, thus truncating mein kampf
and additional fail safe measure
being trundled to an igloo
serving as ice cold emergency room
of a mockup hospital or calling

on the ghost of  the late veterinarian
James Herriot to scare doggone
such hiccup caterwauling
catering to gentile
or skeletal anorexic
hunger artist appropriately named Jew
Lean, thus, time and again
when said hiccup affliction
holds me hiccup hostage
ye dear stranger knew

seeking cure twill drive me towards
considering additional outrageous
acts of desperation
such as sticking ma head in the loo,
which bizarre reaction
on par with holding
out an appetite
until famished for moo
goo guy pan mixed
with delicious bowl of new

dulls steeped in broth,
an island delicacy renown on Oahu
even this atheist would ask
for salivation praying in a pew,
whereby sound of silence
echoed by hiccup right on queue
when nary a burble
until reaching amen hiccup rue
stubbornly persists,
no matter resorting

to consider extreme unction measures
at suppressing explosive strew
wing upsurge of diaphragm,
accursed diabolical solution
holding breath until
turning blue in the face  
simultaneously forcing air thru
alternative orifices such as:
nasal passage and/or mouth, ears
or out derrière as last ditch effort.

Oft times physiological phenomena  
faintly resembles bobbing up and down
analogous to the celebrated
jumping frog of Calaveras County
seriousness one best not undervalue
with a snort
lest ye surpass one poor soul
when an accident
on June 13, 1922,

Charles Osborne  
(experienced 20 to 40
involuntary diaphragm
spasms per minute)
hiccupped nonstop,
which condition persisted
for more than six decades,
only ending in 1990,
a full 68 years after it began.

Osborne's plight remains
the longest attack
of hiccups confirmed
by Guinness World Records
invariably accompanied
no doubt by a voodoo
Practitioner…until…at last whew
hiccups stopped  mysteriously
as they started
bringing relief
to him who analogously felt like
caged primate in a zoo.
googling inept kickstarted lame outré jaunty hokum

(alternately titled:
Random screenshot within me noggin
instantaneously transforming,
née devolving into gobbledygook.)

I got born with poker faced physiognomy,
no matter yours truly doth not play cards
though self same person impractical joker
shuffles thru life without (think silent owl)
gives no hoot, though reckons Halloween
mask permanently affixed bonafide tragic/
comic features ofttimes resignation chiefly

communicated, one luckless boyish looking
goodfella, (a veritable greybeard, albeit or
kissed striated uber wordsmith yawping zee
lot misanthrope) chronologically edging two
ward the edge of night concerning mortality,
meanwhile fudging primitive protoplasmic
prurient predilection emblematic of proud
primate, i.e. **** sapiens 1% Neanderthal.

At birth, yours truly a tangle of arms & legs
scrawny bundle of lovely bones linkedin as
hypothetical extinct creature halfway in
evolutionary line between modern human
beings and their anthropoid progenitors, an
atavistic penchant to scurry along on all his

four indistinguishable limbs rooting around
for grubs using quasi snout (visualize) multi
sensory proboscis (adorned with coiled cilia)
evolved for touching, tasting, snorting, and
(sniffing out) smelling faintest molecular jot.

Mutations begat courtesy
in vitro fertilization gone awry
amateur Doctor Frankenstein wannabe
horror, he did decry
innocuous experiment genetically
designing generic guy
wrested out bubbling test tube,

manifested nsync with no lie
feted date regarding celebrated
jumping frog of Calaveras
County - chosen birthday
one primate roaming July 2nd, 2020
approximately CCXLIV orbitz
after initial 1776 fourth of July

ushering, igniting, exploding
contentious, prodigious, riotous
racial quandary paramount
issue conscientious Earthlings contend
obliged regarding minecrafted
dissension front and center
across spectrum of humanity

necessary burning issue ****
sapiens unavoidable progressive
equality mandate to occupy
even attention of Holden Caulfield
made household name
courtesy J(erome) D(avid)
Salinger's Catcher in the rye.

No matter yours truly peculiar
looking packaged, oddly
pickled, and puckered, thus
token scapegoat (no kidding),
this ole buck (bully me)

shunned, ostracized, penalized...,
(when just good little boy,
nor baad *** man) never privy
to good luck, cuz I always feel
(felt) excluded, intimidated,

and marginalized (yes in part
resembling a being from an
alien nation (and/or
outer limits thereof)

preferring the twilight zone,
especially when dark shadows
crawl along edge of night,
where nocturnal ghastly
emanations issue forth.

Mine easily becoming hypnotized
allows, enables, and provides
ingress for spectral constituent
shape shifting material
courtesy Matthew Scott Harris,
which disembodied ethereal flotsam
phantasmagorical spirited phenomenon
coalesces around me

gently cocooning, engulfing,
and fabricating yours truly,
whereby I become
transmogrified into an unfurled
magic Harris Tweed Scottish
welcome mat flying
to and fro, hither and yon.
An infinitesimal slight speck tickled
nostril follicle – activated via an itty
bitty, nitty gritty dirt band noah bigger
than a mole luck yule set in motion a
chain reaction, whence mine sensitive
proboscis honker (wheeze - hilly little
bridged fine tuned pug nose aroma
sensor), got unexpectedly in gauged
(in holy matt trim mo’ knee) to achew,
and eschew pledging troth (in favor of
hanky-panky) found this chap feeling
phlegmatic because an endless string
of faux allergic emanations, which
upon subsiding left me throat rather
raspy and voice some octaves deeper
akin to a coterie of celebrated jumping
frogs from Calaveras County, California
took residence and refused leaving
stranglehold upon math rote upon
awakening from a hard day’s journey
into night across the outer limits
of thine twilight zone resurrected
during slumber, yet upon awakening
felt much refreshed and hungry enough
to eat a horse – nee – make that forced
***** – gulped down within a hoof
n hour and now recount how back in

the day when zooming thru the Lilies
of the Valley (whooshing mass elf tubby
an aeroplane) frequent bouts with uber
twittering snapchatting sinus attacks
besieged crinkled, doppelganger expeller
for germs hunting with his clean X
instantaneously for nasal passages
to enter surreptitiously the fecund
effluvia dripping, oozing, and  seeping
clear liquid as wintry cold air looses
droplets from out a near frozen nose,
which bloke knows not why frigid blast
stimulates gallimaufry of sniffling
to spurt into a volume of one after
another gesundheit donning, snorting
trumpeting unwittingly confusing
Canadian geese, who misconstrue
the honking from midway centered
****** *****, which angry birds
in tandem with flock of Seagulls
quite perturbed to espy one curmudgeon
chap clapping hands over (what feels
like Smashing Pumpkins on face)
in an effort to stifle subsequent gummy
emissions, which residue expectorated
with heave *** shove
schnoz el tov blowing into snot-rag.

This thick mucous essentially
the defense mechanism of a healthy
body electric to restore biz zee nose
as usual, which for this mild mannered
liberal leitmotif from the chronicle of one
matted nattering nabob of nativity attests
congested mob functioning like
a well lubricated machine, yet
for the life of me, nary a handy dandy
blues clues evident as per, how
the human entity empowered
to steamroll over
any reasonably annoying bugaboo.

Ah, now if only a similar innate
defense mechanism arose
within the mental health,
that would be a supreme testament
to thine atheistic tasty mints of miracles
minus the attendant pharmacopeia
of this, that or some other drug to aright
skewered psyche (of this contemplative,
emotive and intuitive literate outlier),
whose sixty two plus eight shades
of gray matter went awry and skewed
toward tipping point (to cope with ordinary
cares and concerns of an uncertain
whirled wide web) found the bulk
of his life riddled with a joe king,
gun slinging tub back ha chew win,
bard **** wordsmith,
who doth newt like to utter any
cryptographic crossword.
An infinitesimal slight speck
tickled nostril follicle – activated
via an itty bitty, nitty gritty dirt band
noah bigger than a mole
luck yule set in motion
a chain reaction,
whence mine sensitive
proboscis honker (a wheeze hilly
little bridged fine tuned pug
nose aroma sensor),
got unexpectedly in gauged
(in holy matt

trim mo’ knee) to achew,
and eschew pledging troth (in favor
of hanky-panky) found
this chap feeling phlegmatic despite
an endless strings of faux
allergic emanations, which upon
subsiding left me throat
rather raspy and voice some octaves
deeper akin to a coterie
of celebrated jumping frogs from
Calaveras County, California

took residence and took leave
sans stranglehold upon
math rote upon awakening
from a hard day’s journey into night
across the outer limits of thine
twilight zone resurrected
during slumber, yet upon awake
kin ning felt much refreshed
and hungry enough to eat a horse
– nee – make that forced ***** –
gulped down within a hoof

n hour and now recount how
back in the day when zooming
thru the Lilies of the Valley
(whooshing mass elf tubby an aero
plane) frequent bouts
with uber twittering snapchatting sinus
attacks besieged crinkled,
doppelganger expeller for germs
hunting with his clean
X instantaneously for nasal passages
to enter surreptitiously
the fecund effluvia dripping, oozing,

and  seeping clear liquid
as wintry cold air looses droplets
from out a near frozen nose,
which bloke knows not why
frigid blast stimulates
a gallimaufry of sniffling to spurt into
a volume of one after another
gesundheit snorting trumpeting
unwittingly confusing
Canadian geese, who misconstrue the

honking from midway
centered ****** *****, which angry
birds in tandem with
flock of Seagulls quite perturbed to
espy one curmudgeon chap
clapping hands over (what feels
like a smashed face)
in an effort to stifle subsequent gummy
emissions, which residue
expectorated with heaven ***.

This thick mucous
essentially the defense mechanism of
a healthy body electric
to restore biz zee nose as usual,
which for this mild mannered
liberal leitmotif from the
chronicle of one matted
nattering nabob of nativity attests

congested mob functioning
like a well lubricated machine,
et for the life of me,
nary a handy dandy
blues clues evident
as per, how the human entity
empowered to steamroll over
any reasonably annoying bugaboo.

Ah, now if only a similar
innate defense mechanism
arose within the mental health,
that would be a supreme testament
to thine atheistic exist
ants of miracles minus
the attendant pharmacopeia of this,
that or some other drug
to aright skewered psyche (of this
contemplative, emotive
and intuitive literate outlier),

whose sixty plus three
shades of gray matter went awry
and skewed toward tipping point
(to cope with ordinary
cares and concerns
of an uncertain whirled wide web)
found the bulk of his life
riddled with a joe king, gun
slinging tub back ha chew win,
bard **** wordsmith,
who doth newt like
to utter any crossword.
circa June 20th, 2022
prompted me to stutter
self addressed rapid fire gesundheit
nsync with, spluttering
“I don't have any allergies!”

An infinitesimal slight speck tickled
nostril follicle – activated via an itty
bitty, nitty gritty dirt band noah bigger
than a mole luck yule set in motion a
chain reaction, whence mine sensitive
proboscis honker (wheeze - hilly little
bridged fine tuned pug nose aroma
sensor), got unexpectedly in gauged
(in holy matt trim mo’ knee) to achew,
and eschew pledging troth (in favor of
hanky-panky) found this chap feeling

phlegmatic because an endless string
of faux allergic emanations, which
upon subsiding left me throat rather
raspy and voice some octaves deeper
akin to a coterie of celebrated jumping
frogs from Calaveras County, California
took residence and refused leaving
stranglehold upon math rote upon
awakening from a hard day’s journey
into night across the outer limits
of thine twilight zone resurrected

during slumber, yet upon awakening
felt much refreshed and hungry enough
to eat a horse – nee – make that forced
***** – gulped down within a hoof
n hour and now recount how back in
the day when zooming thru the Lilies
of the Valley (whooshing mass elf tubby
an aeroplane) frequent bouts with uber
twittering snapchatting sinus attacks
besieged crinkled, doppelganger expeller
for germs hunting with his clean X

instantaneously for nasal passages
to enter surreptitiously the fecund
effluvia dripping, oozing, and  seeping
clear liquid as wintry cold air looses
droplets from out a near frozen nose,
which bloke knows not why frigid blast
stimulates gallimaufry of sniffling
to spurt into a volume of one after
another gesundheit donning, snorting
trumpeting unwittingly confusing
Canadian geese, who misconstrue

the honking from midway centered
****** *****, which angry birds
in tandem with flock of Seagulls
quite perturbed to espy one curmudgeon
chap clapping hands over (what feels
like Smashing Pumpkins on face -
resembling a Puddle of Mudd)
in an effort to stifle subsequent gummy
emissions, which residue expectorated
with heave *** shove
schnoz el tov blowing into snot-rag.

This thick mucous essentially
the defense mechanism of a healthy
body electric to restore biz zee nose
as usual, which for this mild mannered
liberal leitmotif from the chronicle of one
matted nattering nabob of nativity attests
congested mob functioning like
a well lubricated machine, yet
for the life of me, nary a handy dandy
blues clues evident as per, how
the human entity empowered
to steamroll over
any reasonably annoying bugaboo.

Ah, now if only a similar innate
defense mechanism arose
within the mental health,
that would be a supreme testament
to thine atheistic tasty mints of miracles
minus the attendant pharmacopeia
of this, that or some other drug to aright
skewered psyche (of this contemplative,
emotive and intuitive literate outlier),
whose sixty three plus eight shades

of gray matter went awry and skewed
toward tipping point (to cope with ordinary
cares and concerns of an uncertain
whirled wide web) found the bulk
of his life riddled with a joe king,
gun slinging tub back ha chew win,
bard **** wordsmith,
who doth newt like to utter any
cryptographic crossword
toward friend or foe.
Little pieces of me are crumbling,
They lump up over my spine
they materialize over my rib cage as
soft tissue balled up
and I have begun to mediate
“ it is my nature to be ill and to die”

I wait weeks, days, to know before I frighten my friends, but it’s too late for my mind it is scared–and it prepares for the possibility of death.

In my mother’s culture they embrace death. They paint their faces as calaveras and line the path with flores naranjas between what they believe links
the living to the dead

So you would think
I would be ready

                               ...
My dad is old and has seen death many times before...
This quarantine has walked him deeper into a pool of sadness; he’s been in doors for  a month , but it wasn’t until the ball over my rib began to grow that he finally submerged his head underwater.
                               ...
I mustered the courage to tell my childhood friend; it made her sad– I don’t want to be a burden

My pals speak of post quarantine fun, of trips and of gatherings. I don’t tell any of them why I have begun adding “if I have enough life”

A little piece of me, who would of thought a little piece of me could potentially **** me.
I am trying to embrace the idea of illness and death. I am waiting to find out what the growing lump on my back is.
The following words crafted soon after the soul of me daddy set adrift into the empyrean realm joining the rank and file of entities constituting spiritus mundi.

Borne aloft into the netherland
the body bearing thee soul  
of Boyce Brandon Harris
birth name given to my late father
buoyed into the great beyond
united with spirit
of mine late mother Harriet,
whose passing well nigh nineteen
orbitz of the earth around the sun.

Elysian fields embraced dada's soul
which rocketed into aerospace
(courtesy General Electric satellite)
just a tadpole more than three
earth orbitz and a half years ago,
when venerated, loved,
and celebrated then nonagenarian
on par with jumping frog
of calaveras county,  
(whose captor disguised
as toad tilly grim reaper)
went a courtin for fresh corpse,
nevertheless melancholy
still plucks mine heart strings.

Mine psyche still situated awry
placid countenance of yours truly doth belie
residual sadness easily prompted
can easily trigger me to cry
linkedin when grim reaper gloated
October 7th, 2020,
he did somewhat peacefully die
(courtesy congestive heart failure),
though methinks immortality
I did briefly espy,
when miracles of modern medicine
tried, but could not
stave off mortality nor fortify
depredations of aging concerning
one (back during his boyhood)
a wunderkind, whose accomplishments
evinced a lad who pulled out all the stops
laudatory when a young handsome guy,
whose intelligence scored high
native talent aptitude tests did imply,
an august presence
his person, especially birthday celebrated,
lorded over, regaled and touted
like fourth of July
completely unlike yours truly
pitifully jejune existence well nigh.

The late polymath and scientifically astute
Boyce Brandon Harris
exhibited prolific talents at young age
aside being scholastically gifted,
acquiring graduate degree
courtesy Columbia University,
freshly minted mechanical engineer,
(he admirably ranked within
uppermost percentile academically),
I hashtag thy mine deceased father
(a Renaissance man
- jack-of-all-trades),
who possessed (née excelled)
at diverse creative abilities.

Aside from being schooled
as mechanical engineer,
(which courses in mathematics and science
he passed with flying colors)
his mind genetically bequeathed
to craft almost anything under the sun
evidenced first by yours truly,
the second offspring and sole son
who ofttimes felt intimidated
at being in presence
of said versatile person.

Handicrafts included
expending blood, sweat, and tears
coercing, fabricating, invoking
earth, wind, and fire elements of style
to craft multitude of projects;
i. building me Flintstone (foot powered)
car with wooden license plate

ii. making playhouse for all three
of us - his progeny;
iii. amassing wood pile(s)
to stoke wood burning stoves;
iv. designing Zayda trail
for Teddy and Ruff
(two doggone mixed breed Border Collies

rescued courtesy youngest sister
at her Jacobsburg,
Pennsylvania work site);
v. constructing sauna in cellar;
vi. etching, detailing (al fresco);
vii. plus trimming living room ceiling
with dainty crown moulding;

viii. shingling (while fiddling) on the roof;
ix. tiling the kitchen floor;
x. building a cistern for brethren,
xi. wood paneling many rooms;
xii. building custom made toy chest;
xiii. stringing up lights to increase visibility
driveway lit like Christmas tree after dark;

xiv. partly assembled a kayak;
xv. Rehabilitated derelict houses
in Norristown, Pennsylvania
xvi. retooling - enhancing porch
with tiles (formerly slate covered),
where Morris dancers performed
at wedding for eldest sister.

Unlike him who did beget me,
I experienced cognitive challenges
that beset one painfully shy
and severely introverted male
more to the point
as a lad and mediocre student to boot
promotion to next highest grade
occurred just by the skin of my teeth
and analogously, figuratively, and poetically
nearly shaved née scalped,
butchered of me pilgrim's pride

thankfully peach fuzz bewhiskered
fine hairs of my chinny chin chin,  
staved off retention
never forcing me to repeat a grade,
which may help to explain
why I wear dentures,
oh... these choppers
then worn for about
one eighth of mein kampf livingsocial.

A sense of inadequacy prevailed,
when absolute zero self esteem
strikingly and suddenly manifested
in tandem when parents moved
their young tender family within
Lower Providence School District,
but into a vaunted larger house
(initial summer estate constituted
about one hundred acres of woodland -
named Glen Elm
think Winnie the Pooh -
house at Pooh corner).

Not quite two score plus ten years
spent livingsocial at 324 Level Road
(above mentioned abode alluded),
and twas there majority
mine existential highs and lows,
where nadir of mein kampf transpired,
I emotionally hit rock bottom
upon onset of prepubescence
yet major event triggering
mine major depression
set in motion,
when parents chose February 28th, 1968
to move out of shoddily constructed domicile
located on Lantern Lane.

As shared with Renee Cardone,
(the therapist whose virtual sessions
linkedin courtesy Doxy.me portal -
similar to Zoom),
that aforementioned date
marked a turning point
after which time, I floundered
experienced irrevocable mental health issues
punctuating my psychological equilibrium
with chronic distress,
though I forgive father and mother,
who unwittingly made decision
how uprooting their offspring
to move without consulting
either yours truly, or older
and younger sisterly sibling.

— The End —