Adobo Criollo Sergio Antonio Ortiz Rivera

quicksand sucking at my feet-- the longer I live the more I shed my anger, embracing silence

to the men who entered and left my bedroom wearing nothing but balloons… I will not be possessed by sadness

que somos para los girasoles y cardenalitos… sueños que terminan sin rastro de anhelos

“The half life of love is forever.”  —Junot Diaz, This Is How You Lose Her -  what are men  to sunflowers and  cardinals, dreams that end  without a trace of longing? Painting by Larry Zach

a todos los hombres que colmaron mis noches de éxtasis, a los que un día acaricie, acurruque a solo los mejores a mis prófugos del pensamiento que entraron y salieron por mi puerta me alegra que llegaran

mi obra maestra… holograma de flores de cerezo derramando los pétalos de mis pesares dentro de un rayo de luz

my masterpiece... a hologram of cherry blossoms shedding the petals of my sorrows into a ray of light

now that you're gone, are you really made of stardust? amnesia... a labyrinth of rejected  imperfections

amnesia… a labyrinth of rejected lovers

el olvido… laberinto desechado de lo imperfecto 

From Cinder to Cinder how do I draw a broken heart when beauty is nothing but the birth of fear inside me there is only room for light… intersections of harmony, corridors of flaming dawns 

In Response to Payam Feili’s poem: Eleven I too blossom in that languid lake— grieve for your words my poems bowdlerized beneath fallen leaves I mourn my sitting Shiva my wild rose in dark prison cells where sleeplessness is at no time impossible, where spring never reaches any further than the walls I despair for my uncle’s only son in the cold season of his naked groin O, how I despair for his lips on my nape

¿Cuándo miente la música? ¡Cuando sonidos de perfección acústica en Lps sobrepasan mis latidos!

when does music learn to lie? when the sounds of acoustic perfection on Lps overpass my heartbeats

con la calma que nos distanciamos de la lluvia— envueltos en un sentido de plenitud 

how calmly we distance each other from the rain— a constant sense of fullness surrounding us

migration… on the slim backs of children

my country 'tis of thee ... picking strawberries  at the corner of angst and apprehension over-ridden by ghosts 

falling  into grace... the art  of dreaming up  the impossible

come sit by me my kindred friend we can no longer look for God on every corner come here let’s talk they've kidnapped Him, my senseless brother and no one’s paying for his ransom

desert rain mirrors images of light... the blues

rain on the desert, mirror images of beauty… blues are gone it took me long to breathe the road is broad, the search deep

geografía de mi memoria— colección al azar de versos arrebatados a la noche  

geography of my memory— a collection of verses hijacked from the dead of night

un soñador  me salvo  del desespero…  camuflado  de arco iris

a cloud-walker saved me  from despair— camouflaged  with rainbows

Terrorismo ¿Qué se necesita para dejar a un lado la oración... caminar en el amor sin fijarse en la lluvia que inunda el corazón? ¿Qué significa derretir la mente con temor... enterrar las armas antes de que el corazón desvanezca y las piernas se empapen de orine?

caminó por una calle mojada ensayando un nuevo mañana… el mundo en guerra robó  tiempo al día para trabajar en un poema… una ave menor del paraíso espera por tu respuesta

I steal time to work on a poem… a lesser bird of paradise waits for your reply

I walk  on a wet street auditioning for a new tomorrow... the world is still at war

body parts  throughout the city--  houses  that have no walls... monotheist & atheist concealed in prayers

lovesick summer... the perfect setting  for a song enfermo de amor... perfecto escenario para una canción

despierto por el viento... el libro de las horas* *Rilke  awakened  by a breeze...  the book of hours *   *Rainer Maria Rilke - celebrating his birth and art

a child is born, is he fed he has a bed, but is it free of fog         gestures

criminal minds— nothing is so common as the wish to be remarkable* ... the tortured turn into torturers *Shakespeare 

what does it take to let go of prayer... a walk into love without looking at the rain flooding your heart what does it mean to melt the mind with fear, to bury weapons before our hearts go faint and our legs  wet with urine?

smack me with the truth... I'm leaving there's nothing to forgive let it go

Frente al Mar Estoy perlada de noches musicales, acordes de viola que no cupieron en el suelo arenoso de tu playa. El crepúsculo me hace huir con labios resecos hacía el oblicuo ombligo del tiempo, tiemblo repleta de amores paridos con el más agudo grito, casi sin aire, tiemblo. La mar, mi hermana, bate sus olas sobre mis pechos, me saluda su roció matinal, soy cántaro de uvas marinas.  Amor, vierte tus encantos dentro de mi boca para esparcirme igual que tu sobre una ola. No busco orilla, más bien busco el sosiego de haber sido huella de coral vivo en tu último ocaso. Traigo sobre mi espalda la más reciente lluvia y el aire libre de mi hermana Julia batiéndose con olas gigantes frente al mar.  Triunfando, siempre triunfando.

I'm jealous of the bed where I don't lie with you... the hands that travel through your skin— shipwrecked 

what is faith that does not doubt— death, insomnia of shadows?

friends say you have a new lover I'm not  the one you're taking home... broken bottles on the dance floor

we die  without  saving the world … find beauty in the remnants of dead butterflies

death … the insomnia of shadows

el insomnio de las sombras la muerte

naked...  before the mirror a thousand sorrows

you idiot the impression I get is that you’re leaving me… loving you is like predicting a séance

I want tell the stars about the silent tears hidden behind the doors of this lifetime— unrepeatable night with you

el amor  te crema,  que quieres de el— entrégate 

now what? I imagine you giving away the scent of your body…

el olvido … una huella en la arena de tu cuerpo

toss the pieces of my broken heart to the wind don’t make me say yes when I want to say no

I’m like the sun, all alone I survive the thunderstorm, I’m like the flower that opens up after it rains

listen to the harmonies of my skin… I’m holding a daisy that tells me yes, or no

I wanted it to be more than just a habit I wanted to travel across every inch of your skin, but I became your puppet

give me one last moon stay tangled in my hair tonight… titillating heart

sometimes I think I’ve stopped loving you … I run out to find a friend, and wake up in some stranger’s bed

our last night together— let’s end it with a bang … forget about the hurt stop holding on to miracles

earning my strips wasn’t easy, and even though there’re no regrets I miss the parties by the sea

hay tanto territorio entre nosotros— derrotados

todo me retorna al tiempo en que tú estabas aquí, cielo,  aquí

encontré mis pies entre las faldas de tus montañas cielos y océanos

let me take a photograph, that's if you're  here alone... it's cold out here, baby so don't let me down

you keep backing  me up against these walls... loving you  in the dark isn't my fault sorry but I have to go Inspired by Adeles song, love in the dark

you back me up  against these walls... loving you  in the dark isn't my fault sorry but I have to go

the pain comes  at the moment I leave... don't realize that I'm your remedy, promise you won't fall apart

there's a voice singing to me on the radio … everyday occurrences are the greatest gifts I have, me and you— a simple formula

now what? I'm losing my voice calling you... who will you let lie  on your back if not me

life without pain  doesn't taste the same... I'm no longer  the owner of my heart can't find it, can't find it

take  my clothes off  slowly...  be careful not to wake past fiascos

naked, because my skin  disguises  a thousand sorrows, in front of the mirror

your smile sells happiness... I live crazy with desire finding myself in your kisses

what light did you leave on inside me?... sometimes a star’s silence provokes my tears

he's dressed  in the clothes I threw across the floor... why are we pushing  this tragedy up a mountain

de laisser l'étreinte  sous les lumières parisiennes  baissant jamais dans la peur de l' obscurité salope  sans vergogne de la terreur

for Paris let's hug under Parisian lights never crouching   in the dark, fearless of the unrepentant bitch of terror

November  a month sheltered  in smiles-- Your countenance  makes my heart malleable blessed  are  the First and Second nights in the cities  of men's hearts* ... dawn is about to appear * Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

I am a warrior  unafraid of cavern air—  my attachment  to you, wounded Valkyrie,  is running out

you vanished in a hint of smoke-- I walked on stilts, twirling  in the breeze

stifled song, the realization of no longer        breathing in memories, faded urge for intimacy

what happens  to an interrupted dream, does it droop like a bulky stem of ripe tomatoes ?

 Traffic She ran onto the street naked. It was the last frontier, a desperate plea for help.  We were shaken, ashamed, and helpless. it feels as if we've met... I used to watch you walk in the rain and saw you go under

a los quince zozobre a orillas de un faro a los treinta compre una falda azul para mi sepelio hoy me duele el elegía en la barca mezquina del alba y vengo arrodillarme ante la locura

I'm hollow, are you listening I'm in El Paso dreaming about what  happened between us

it's no mystery we're running out  of time when I'm with you songbirds cry

every time I'm with you I feel sought after who do you think you are amassing my feelings 

the stretch of life I have left before me . . . not even redwoods live forever