Adobo Criollo Sergio Antonio Ortiz Rivera

Published in KernalsOnline.com April 17, 2013, Editor's Choice http://www.kernelsonline.com/EC-TANKApage.html I spring forth from the ecstasy of being a lotus . . . become legend as you hide in the bosom of another For this Editor's Choice, I've selected a tanka by Sergio Ortiz of Puerto Rico which is one that also includes elements familiar in old court poetry: association by nature, juxtaposition, meeting, parting, longing and the beauty of thought. It contains self but only in comparison to a lotus in the way perhaps that an old or past love has moved on to another's embrace by choice, or maybe even returned to because of obligation. Either way, the poet/lover has become legend now and what springs forth for readers, is the ecstasy of once being.

Dengue Cerberus licking his stone wrinkle genitals… A fever of 103 I survive the lecher's kiss, Continue to swim in light Pure? What does it mean? Sharp as the tongues of Paradise Are sharp Sharp as Hiroshima rain Radiation turned them red Eleven days and nights Water dissolving my liver I barely consume any food It’s the pain of having lost my humility to love That keeps me from a hospital Yet Paradise is not an option The fever subsides like an old whore Counseling a virgin And I go to see a movie Then rush back home to bed