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Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal
THE JAZZ BIRDS
The jazz birds
improvise.
The barking
dog provides
the bass and
car engines
rev up the
sound, even
computers make
noise, their
fans blow like
wind, nothing
like typer
music, but
more sounds come
from the sink,
water sounds,
and the birds
pause for a
bit as the
airplane makes
its giant
sound across
blue skies with
sparse clouds, a
whistling train
can be heard,
a gunshot,
and silence
until a
siren screams
out. The jazz
birds begin
and dogs bark
furiously.
They can't stop.
The music
is everywhere.
THE WIDOW
Don't be cruel.
I couldn't stay
another day
inside that room.
Don't you know
somebody was
electrocuted
on my bed. I
still smell burning
flesh and hair. How
dare you send me
back inside there?
I cannot eat
thinking about
it. Do you think
I could sleep there?
Don't be so cruel.
I bet all the
soap and water
couldn't wash off
all that smell. I'm
old, but I'm not
crazy. Can't I
go to my house?
My husband's not
dead? What are you
saying? Please don't
you be so cruel.
ANGEL OF THE SUN
I’m the angel
of the sun.
I’m burnt to
a crisp by
its burning flame.
I’m the angel
warrior
with wings that
envelop
the universe.
I’m the angel
on mad weed
spreading a
message of
live and let live.
I’m the angel
liar, myth
creator,
stretching out
my wings of truth.
JULIUS CAESAR
I’m here because
Of my ex-friend’s
Tricks. He is no
Longer my friend.
He knows I am
Julius Caesar.
But he would not
Bow down to me.
Instead he called
The cops and they
Put me in here
With crazy folks.
I’m very smart.
I know every
Person in this
Hospital. I
Work here too. I
Own this place. I
Am a business
Tycoon. I am
Planning to go
To law school to
Sue everyone
Who locked me up.
I am Julius
Caesar. I am
The Emperor
Of the free world.
PESSIMIST
I can't stop being in pain.
I don't see the point in life.
I want to run into an
oncoming train or a car.
I'm sure this will fix things. No
one likes me anyway. Who
will miss me? I don't think I
will ever feel good again.
I'm a realist. But more than
that I'm a pessimist. Woes
anybody that comes in touch
with me. I'll rub off on them.
WANDERING IN TRAFFIC
Wandering
in traffic,
showing off
his birthday
suit, he showed
his worst half,
covered in
feces. He
stunk up the
patrol car
as he was
rush to the
psych E.R.,
where his mind
would be
evaluated.
He could not
even say
his name, let
alone tell
anyone
why he was
naked and
covered in
his feces.
ALIENS WALKING
The world is on fire.
Aliens walk the earth.
A menace seeks to
bust up society.
The loaded gun in
the alien's hand declares
never ending war.
Everyone takes up arms.
DUSTY FRAGMENTS
The dusty fragments
of another day
marked off
on my calendar,
hangs upon my mind
like an albatross.
They day's gone, but not
forgotten. This is a
day I can
never retrieve.
It keeps lingering.
THE LUMINADOS
The awful stench
of the apocalypse
breathes up and
down my neck.
Invisible hounds
bark sounds of horror
into my ears
and my face.
There is nowhere
to run, nowhere to hide,
and they are
everywhere.
The Luminados
wield their shiny blades
and slash at my
throat and eyes.
Out in open places
the dead pile up. The
stink of decay
fills the town.
LIES
I do not believe myself.
I am just a man.
I state the obvious and
sometimes I tell lies.
I have no special powers.
My words are simple.
If there is ever magic,
it is by mistake.
I call a root a root and
a branch a branch.
Metaphors escape me. I
shun them like a plague.
Sometimes I write of dreams. I
find worlds in them, worlds
that do not exist. This is
where I tell my lies.
A FAMILIAR FACE
In the water
a familiar face
stares back at me.
It struggles to
speak as small waves
swallow
the face’s mouth.
The face was young.
Now it’s old, ancient,
in the water.
In the depths the
face fills with dark
water.
There’s no reflection.
DEATH’S SHADOW
One night
a shadow
with a heartbeat
followed me.
Dressed in
black. It moved
like a man. It
sung like death.
One day
something changed.
The shadow spoke
in Spanish.
The sun
hid behind
tall trees and the
shadow spoke
again.
It perfumed
the air with death
and decay.
Copyright Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal 2007
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