The Second Person
A kind of floating, as I stand.
Blood-drenched agony,
In front of you, as I am reborn.
First, my habits fall away,
And eventually my personality
Shatters into infinite pieces.
A deathly reflex, as
You drift past me.
History.
For A Young Man Who Took His Life
For who was chased by a ghost
in the dark extensions of his life
his joys, his commitments in a flash
turned into pretenses for his ardor.
The beautiful books, his mind a starting
point, some moments violent lover
then his face turned mysterious
nothing next to him would match
a strange man who stayed
around us with a distorted face
he wouldn’t accept our suspicion
that something horrible was coming to him
he was strangely beautiful like those
who Death had already marked
he gave himself to every danger
as if someone had already claimed him.
They found him with a single
mark on his temple, he was
a total victory like the light
that sheds around it darkness.
He was simple and serene
a smiling reborn face
as if he had become a thank you
logos on the cross hairs of evil.
Eyelids Tightly Shut
Her hungry lips, if you feel
deleting your days
her spine if you sense
squirming at your demise
warrior, remember to keep
your eyelids shut tight
her thighs if you feel
entwined around your waist
and her soft-spoken words
sweet against your tympanums
fingers and nails
if you feel writing on your skin
warrior, remember to keep
your eyelids shut tight
the glance of the Medusa
demands your death
Excerpt
Eteo dialed Susan’s number.
“Hello sweet Susan.”
“A sweet hello to you too, Eteo,” she replied.
“Want to hook up for lunch?”
“Sure. Are you very hungry?”
“Extremely. And you?” he asked, teasing her.
“I am.”
“Hungry for what, though, sweet Susan?”
She laughed into his ear. “And for that.”
“I’ll make sure you’re fed, my love,” Eteo promised.
It was the first time Susan had heard him call her that. She felt
her cheeks redden, and a sweeter feeling ran down her spine and over
her whole body.
“What time is your lunch break today?” Eteo asked.
“In twenty minutes. Can you wait for me?”
“Twenty minutes, yes, but not a single minute more. You’ll come
down here?”
Susan assured him she would be there on time
“See you in twenty, baby,” Eteo said, putting down the phone.
A quick check of Platinum Properties showed it trading at 55c
with his orders lower than the market. He called Logan into his office.
“Raise these two orders a little higher. From 49 and 51 cents to
53 and 54. We’ve been sitting too low. I don’t see us getting any shares
otherwise.”
Logan quickly changed the prices of the buying slips and went
to the trading desk to instruct the traders. By the time he got back to
his father’s office, they were first in the line of purchasers and within
a few seconds they had secured almost twenty thousand shares in a
couple of transactions. Eteo smiled.
“Stay at this position until the end of the day. John might decide
to take some of his profit and walk.”
Logan agreed, seeing what was happening in the market as another
seven thousand shares came to them at the same price. Almost
as soon as Logan had gone back to his desk, Susan arrived. Eteo got
up at once, took her by the arm and walked her out. Susan was still
flushed and warmed up from his earlier words today.
Excerpt
I managed to push him off and he sauntered away,
seemingly satisfied he had not only taught Tamanoa a lesson, but
me as well.
I looked at Tamanoa’s mutilated face. He was choking on his
blood. turned and threw the nose at my feet, then disappeared into
the night, whistling. I helped Tamanoa up and tried to guide him by
the shoulders, hoping perhaps to take him to see Pedro Montes, but
he shook me off and refused to speak to me as he walked towards
the river. And who could blame him? I was a Spaniard after all. It
was for me to prove that Spaniards were not all the same.
I found where Josefa had been sleeping. Gregorio had found her,
too. They were seated near one another, but not talking. Gregorio
drew shapes in the dirt with a long stick and glanced furtively at her
and me. I wanted to tell them both what Pánfilo had done, but I
knew it would not make any difference if they knew. Nobody cared
about the half-breeds.
It was dusk and pleasantly cool in the mountains. Wesat around a
fire. Josefa’s eyes were puffy and red-rimmed, a sign of the depth of
her weariness. The experienced conquistadors had ignored Josefa,
but now that she was widowed, Losada came by to offer his
sympathy and put himself at her disposal to arrange her return to El
Tocuyo once it was safe to do so, if that was her wish.
Infante followed, bowing deeply and kissing her hands. He
expressed his concern about her delicate situation and asked her
permission to inquire after her welfare, so that he might be at her
service in the future.
Gabriel de Ávila, Camacho and others, although modestly, also
showed interest in her that night. Josefa received them graciously,
while Gregorio watched in sullen annoyance. I hoped she might find
a husband among all these men.
Hierodules
Past midnight
in the cloyed atmosphere
of the casino’s underbelly
things were not as they seemed
I sat at a slot machine
trying to synchronize my mind
to the machine’s rhythm
brain balancing precariously
between mild intoxication
and growing inebriation
alcohol consumption evident
on limbs and a loose mind
chasing the elusive hit as
I heard an alluring, sultry voice.
“Hi, baby, how are you?”
Young blonde hooker passed by me
brushing her voluptuousness
languidly against my back
voice as sweet as honey
dripping with innocence and
I, in my mid-sixties
took this as a compliment
even though it came from
the promiscuous and cunning lips
of the young blonde hooker
my brain reeled
in the clutches of alcohol
philosophical thoughts
and unexpected comparisons
The young hierodule
for a few dollars
could provide my sexual release
the casino
for a fistful of dollars
sold me the ephemeral joy
of machine combinations
the luck of the draw
and hope
and the other hierodule
the greatest
which for a few dollars more
sells to its innumerable Johns
the safety of Heaven.
Excerpt
slowly-slowly he pressed the woman’s lips until they opened, her
tongue suddenly was licking his finger, her body started swaying
upwards and down, erotically, sensually, provocatively, full of
desire. He smiled, let his hand travel under the bed-sheet, he
touched her body slowly, methodically like a master in the field
he enticed her until she opened for him and let him explored all
her secret coves. She moaned now, her body was in exhilarating
mood, ready to be used, taken, to be enjoyed. He pushed the
bed-sheet away. He knelt on top of her bed. He pulled her
up on her fours. He violated her, crashing in from behind in a
beastly, rough way. She just let go. She was his. Sister Gladys was
a woman who could do anything to please him. She loved him,
she knew. He knew that too.
All his life Jerome, liked to be on top of things; from a young
age growing in a family of five children, in Gatinaeu, Quebec, he
always competed with his four siblings for who would be up front
when it came to sports activities, to studies, in both elementary
and high school classes; His parents certainly loved education, his
dad, a notary public and a very successful one insisted on education
and three of his other siblings, two boys and one girl got high education,
either in college or university. His youngest sister decided
early after high school that she didn’t want to carry on with her
studies and devoted herself to volunteer work for various charity
organizations. Jerome, a shy person by nature, loved the books and
when time came to decide, this was very important to his father
who demanded timely decisions and results thereof, he chose to
become a priest. He followed religious Studies at the University of
Toronto he conscripted himself in the Canadian Diocese, the head
of which sent him to British Columbia. After a few years in Vancouver,
he was sent to the Kamloops Indian Residential School
where he was truly on top of things from day one.
Epode
(chorus of Freemasons)
Go away curses, don’t come close,
Corazon
from cradles to the stars, from the womb to the eyes,
Corazon
where sharp rocks and volcanos and seals
Corazon
where a dark face with big lips and white teeth
Corazon
let the phallus stand let the celebration start with
human sacrifices and dance
Corazon
amid the revel of the flesh to the glory of ancestors
Corazon
so that they shall sow the new generation
Corazon
Old Items Collector
He passed every Thursday, right
after dawn, one could hear his
voice awakening most villagers,
the young refuge collector with
his wide muscly shoulders and
sweet smile who bought anything
the villagers wanted to discard
everything they’d give away or
sell to the young man with
the sweet smile, one man’s refuge
the other man’s treasure, the saying
went and the collector was paying fair
money for any item: pieces of steel,
rusted, bent, and useless or
the worn-out desk of the crazy poet,
who passed a few weeks earlier.
Who would care to keep a desk of
the fool who wrote poems no
sensible man could understand?
Excerpt
Tyne wondered if she should show them her gift, but decided
against it. She knew Aunt Millie would admire it, but her mother
might appear less than pleased. She hoped to spare Morley, and herself,
that embarrassment. Today, of all days, people should be joyful
and of one accord.
Tyne picked up her handbag, and smiled at the two older women
who stood watching them. “Bye for now. I’ll see you both later. I’ll be
home in time to help with dinner.”
Tyne hoped, but did not expect, that her mother would invite
Morley for lunch. She saw Aunt Millie glance expectantly at her sister-
in-law, but Emily did not take the bait. Tyne kicked off her slippers
in the entrance way and pulled on her fur boots. Then they let
themselves out into the crisp winter morning.
Morley’s parents were already seated when the young couple
walked into Emblem Evangelical Church. The usher, a man Tyne recognized
as an employee of one of the three grain elevators in town,
greeted them warmly and led them to the pew where the Cresswells
waited. Mr. Cresswell, a stocky man slightly shorter than his son,
stood and shook hands with Tyne. Mrs. Cresswell also stood to welcome
her. She, too, was stocky and short, and Tyne had to bend from
the shoulders to return her hug.
She turned towards Morley’s father. “I’m pleased to see you looking
well again, Mr. Cresswell.”
He nodded and smiled. “The Lord is faithful,” he said simply.
“We’re so happy you could come, Tyne,” Mrs. Creswell said quietly.
“Come, sit beside me, dear, and Morley can sit on your other side.”
The warmth of Morley’s parents, and their obvious pleasure at her
presence in their church filled Tyne with ambivalent feelings. How
different their attitude towards her than her parents’ attitude towards
Morley. Their acceptance pleased her, yet at the same time made her
heart ache for the rejection Morley must feel from her parents. She
hoped that Aunt Millie’s acceptance – and Jeremy’s as well – made up
somewhat for her parents’ lack of grace.
As soon as the service began, Tyne became caught up in the joy
of the congregation. They sang the beautiful Christmas carols with
passion and enthusiasm.
Manolis Aligizakis 