Split the Ocean in Half
five poems and audio
Higher Education When I was an undergraduate in a writing workshop, a famous poet told us that everything is a poem so this is a poem about a famous poet who ran a writing workshop when I was an undergraduate.
Rez Frankenstein My brother found a dead garter snake & draped it over an electric fence & brought it back to life like he was a mad scientist. But my brother wasn't a scientist. That snake was just hibernation-sluggish & that electric shock had it cursing us as it twisted off the wire & slithered away.
Orthodox
I've chosen to love a Native woman
who's chosen to love me.
We've been married for thirty years.
But when I was young & only half-constructed,
I loved two white women who loved me back.
I sing an honor song for those white women
who loved me
& whom I loved back.
But when I grew a little older & more finished,
I knew that I'd only marry a Native woman
& she knew that she'd only marry
a Native man.
Three decades later, I know that we chose well.
Aftermath
The dictionary tells me that hunger
is a synonym for lust
but not for lost
so, last night, I lustfully ate all
of my arroz con pollo
that we picked up from our favorite
Mexican place.
But now I wish that I'd saved some
of that chicken & rice
so I could eat it for breakfast.
Look at me! Here I am, at breakfast,
wishing that I had a bowl
of leftover chicken & rice
from our favorite Mexican place.
But I was too damn lustful yet again
so now I'm lonely, lonely
for arroz con pollo
and everybody
and everything else
that I've lost.
Fatherhood My sons have suddenly become men. One is taller that me. Both are kinder. If I'm a lion then I'm the lion who'd fight packs of wild dogs to defend them. I'd split an ocean in half to lead them home. I'm lonesome at home as I write this. The ocean splits me in half. If I'm a lion then I'm a lion with a limp, duller teeth, and grey mane. I'm an aging father who misses his children's childhoods and is proud of the men they've become.
Thank you for these Five Eights that equal Forty. A form for many moods. Hunger is a synonym for lost. No wonder I suffered from an eating disorder from age 10 until I was 37 years old and couldn't imagine having children. The beloved ocean splits me in half as I understand that my mysterious missing father and mother missed their children's childhoods. And their own.
And all is not lost. Grateful for all that life brings.
When you pack that much content/idea/image into such small space, casually adding you invented the form, it's a major challenge to write a worthy comment. But here goes: 1) the call & response form begs emulation, offering balance, rhythm, and powerfully conjoined perspectives. I hope to try! 2) I simply adore garter (and most) snakes, am thankful to see it brought back to life, wondering if I will try that experiment when I next am faced with the opportunity, hoping I don't end up disrespecting a resting soul 3) Converting "half-constructed" to "more-finished" is sacred, NOT-automatic work. 4) Thank God there is another human who LUSTS for aroz con pollo at breakfast!
I must also add your "Way Back Machine" has me working on my own written exploration of my homeland. It is SHOCKING to wake up to the degree of my homeland-less-ness, the fact that I will NEVER walk on the body and blood of my ancestors.