Adrian Castro
WORK SONG: WHAT YOU ENCOUNTER IN A DAY’S WORK
Dr. Williams is sitting in
my waiting room—
Again the treatment rooms are
full with the din
of back-pain those
who also gasp with asthma
An elderly woman brings as payment a large papaya
from her backyard
I cannot wait to ask
Dr. Williams—
Is this why your poems short and skinny
crowding two lifetimes into one
have the pulse of a spring river?
We are in the treatment room
His heart has two beats but he
is happy
about this
I ask to see his tongue
I ask him if to know the breath whereby
understand the word
I ask about his English father
his Puerto Rican mother
Hell’s Kitchen
how language was often dissonant
I ask him if
we can speak like
América
THE BODY AT THE END OF INEFFABLE
The wind tattered the tabernacle of palm fronds
The market was swept by the broom of death
and the crown bounced down
an empty road like forgotten weeds
and the landlord handed his last slipper
and lost the name of the mother of death
After the altar was sheltered
After the altar was set
and they said I was the altar
I knew it would follow me
in spite of my helpless memory
& that I’d always search for something rhythmic
something holy & red
My palms cupped like hearts ready
to strike at love
Fingers like claws ready to write on the Earth
Open the Earth to something holy:
a name not spelled backwards
not derivative of a nightmare
but simple that spells search
seed
summer
spring
fall
an altar they said was the mother of death
Adrian Castro is a poet, essayist, and interdisciplinary artist. Born in Miami from Caribbean heritage which has provided fertile ground for the rhythmic Afro-Caribbean style in which he writes and performs. He is the author of Cantos to Blood & Honey (Coffee House Press), Wise Fish (Coffee House Press), Handling Destiny (Coffee House Press). He is the recipient of many grants and fellowships including USA/Knight Fellowship, CINTAS Fellowship, and others. Adrian Castro is also Doctor of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine.