Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal
Born in Mexico, Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal resides in California and works in the mental health field in Los Angeles. His poems have appeared in Blue Collar Review, Kendra Steiner Editions, Nerve Cowboy, and Yellow Mama Webzine. Luis recommends St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
released to his
own care after
promising to
take medicine,
a promise he
is sure to break
Blue was swallowed by night.
Red flower became black flower.
Day was overcome
and still all was beautiful.
It is getting to be a little bit
too much. Things are getting
a bit out of hand. I do not
want to make excuses. Life
is getting the best of me.
Poets, Whitman depends on you
for he cannot return but turn over
in his grave. Purge your words
and make a stand for freedom.
Wanton winds,
take my broken songs
to the riverside
and let them drown.
I need room
for new songs of hope.
Turn up the voltage
and burn out the light bulbs.
Step off the pedestal
and conform to nothing.
I shuffle the deck
and the world lays flat.
The bluer the sky the darker
astronomy becomes.
I will walk on my own, stand on
my own two feet, keep my distance
always. I cannot swallow what
she attempts to serve. I must
look out for my best interests.
conversation or a song
to fill its spaces. The night
remains quiet. I discover
