1. if there were dreams
they cannot be remembered
but in the waking
celebrations of the first and second
ibuprofin-free nights
back still crooked
but no longer broken
2. can it be called breakfast
if it is just one huge spoonful
green-tea flavored
home-made
and freezer cold
3. like a tootsie roll pop
how many photocopies
does it take
until the text
is rendered
‘illegible’
4. i think you underestimate
your work
he says
striking
gold
5. and what would be a naive translation of that?
he asks
6. i’m gonna get in trouble for saying this
but
(which is probably the best thing a professor can say)
i think you are still obeying (too much) the tradition
you are not creating names for groups of writers
it is true that groups of maquila workers
if they don’t name themselves
will have a more difficult time than maquilas with names
attaining more rights/better working conditions
at the moment they can be named
they gain power
and then
he says it:
post-experimental
we didn’t even know we were waiting to hear it
until we felt the words enter our bloodstreams
7. it was like a rite
i tell you
learning the blue ridge edges
cold creeks
and tangled root systems
detail collector 