Three poems by Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal

 

FLOWERS

Don’t fall for flowery outlooks.

The rose in your teeth has thorns
for your gums. Flowers die.
Sometimes they stink like dead fish.

Fall down drunk on a rose bush
and you’ll be cut up from ear to
throat.  Handle them delicately.
Love will leave you exhausted.

Love is a prison of the heart.
It is a relentless warden,
like the dark flower that grows

in your soul. There is a thin
wreathe of thorns that hangs
on your heart and rips it to shreds.

====================

NO ONE SPEAKS THE TRUTH

I invented the light

and the shadows.
I designed the river
at the end of the world.

The wrong poison will

send me to the grave.

My flesh turns pale
when I fall out of love.

I walk on the waves
and speak to them.

The stars at night

make me despondent.
Nightingales sing of
loss and desire.

The white moon was
my creation. I caught
cold feet when I tasted
the salt on your neck.
My legs weakened.
There was nothing left

of me. I had enough

of this place where
no one speaks the truth.

++++++++++++++++++++
 

WHEN WE DREAM: 07:13:2013
 

Open your eyes

to see the darkness.

Close your eyes

to see the light.
The world happens
when we dream.The world ends
when we see.
The heat bears
down on us.
The rain pours
down on us.

We become like
floating algae.
We become like
powder in dust.
Open your eyes
and climb mountains.
Close your eyes
and be like the wind.
The world is there
for the taking.
Don’t let it take
your dreams away.

Author bio: 

In late fall Luis has a new chapbook out from Kendra Steiner Editions.  There is no title yet.   He also has upcoming poetry in MungBeing and Right Hand Pointing.