Imago
Where did the mosquito come from?
-The molted skeleton of a salmon pink birdeater.
What did the holly-leaf cherry hear?
-Glass shatter, an executioner penetrate
a murderer, the murderer ejaculate on the velvet cushion,
confusion sloughing in the mirror shards.
Why did the pirate sing?
-His lover seduced him under the Arc deTriomphe,
before the chandeliers broke the mirror,
because he lost his fear of water.
The Castanet
I am a castanet,
a minstrel blackface,
not the pigtail cushioning
the toreador’s blow
in the bullring
or the severed
hairpiece to indicate
the honor of retirement.
Me, the Zambra Mora
striking hip and resting
navel on your palm,
a nuptial instrument,
tempestuous drumstick.
Kiwi News
Yesterday Mr. Rudd announced
to the Aboriginal Social Justice
Commission his plans to fingerprint the daisies
making him sleepy and face-scan
white rabbit visitors from 10 high-risk countries.
Mr. Rudd said the sides of the well were filled
with cupboards and bookshelves, a growing threat
from Islamist radicals born in Alabama.
Three months ago, six Alabamans of foreign origin
exploded a number of questions. Do bats eat
Australian cats? Do dingoes eat Alabamans?
They received AstraZeneca coupons
for conspiring to launch this jihadist attack.
launching platforms
between hatred and garland
their… lives the esperantist wolf
between a cactus and a lute
there’s roughness of wind
between a drunk and a compass
emanates the stench that fills distances
between parchment and volcano
smudges of light arise
between a Zarzuela and a Mayan
lie neurotic governesses,
poetes maudits
between fortune-teller and hail
there are hidden brooks and snipers
Ortiz has a B.A. in English literature from Inter-American University, and a M.A. in philosophy from World University. His poems have been recently published, or are forthcoming in: The Battered Suitcase, Zygote in my Coffee, Right Hand Pointing, Poui: Cave Hill Journal of Creative Writing, and Writers’ Bloc. Flutter Press published his chapbook, At the Tail End of Dusk (2009).
