It was a moonless night
Not a star in the sky
No one around
But you...and I
On the back porch
Bathed in candlelight
Neighbors fast asleep
Dreams in their eyes
Our bellies full
From all that cabbage stew
Than a'rumblin' began
From that devil’s brew
Oh ...
I used to wonder what it'd take to prove this truth
I used to wonder how to make a mark
But now I know now how simple that it really is
Nothing says I love you
like farting
in the dark
poem
Haiku for an Enlightened New Year
I meditated
So hard I peed in my pants
Warm, wet, samadhi
On the pleasures of being lied to
dreams of cinemas and churches and
where the people once were – empty
now we fill the spaces between spaces
countless coughs in crammed corridors
attentions misdirected by magic words
earth salted, unsowable
incongruous truths, convenience be damned
give me liberty or give us death
silver screens absent of light motions, horror worship
a patriot once whispered
upon her deathbed
to anyone listening,
still trying to understand
the things patriots say,
“you must know that
the child of freedom
is responsibility.
you must know that
freedom is a razor.”
Walking Through the Woods Whistling, Wondering
Under cover of failed flesh
Slowly creeps the march of Death.
Recalling how life fair flows,
Slows not the fall of Shadow…
34 Words for Snow
Snowfall at night, music.
Comes the bone house to rest.
Now, the pale house will dream
Of the world it knew best.
Doubts, through life must we bear
As strong men come or go.
Snowfall, broken-hearted,
Buries blustering foes.
Cures for Pain
Once numb. Limbs frozen, crying to remember heat,
Lashed by the weight of night-plagued flesh.
Choking, room empty of divine, immortal breaths.
Heavy sighs returned while shivering unto death.
Hear now mother’s quivering voice after panged birth.
Watch her lead the children through each forest wild
And tell stories of every bird to fly under every sun.
Just Right
Where have you gone, my hopeful heart,
Exiled by new doom, soon depart?
You used to burn when pushing blood
Saw no things worthless in the mud.
Escaped the liquid from its box,
Coagulate thief, Goldilocks.
Night Breaths
We watched the sky shine dark and apologize
Lightning first, unwelcome stars we will know
Then onto other nights this moon will go
While I spare my sight future, dim-lit sighs.
Utnapishnim, whom the gods made immortal
Dream, always in dream, the past
The past returns, for me to change
And shape into a new future
At eight years old, I didn’t stick up
For dirty Benji Brown
At night, my eyes go wild
And I help him fight the fifth graders
He asks if we can be friends
At night, afloat, I smile and tell him thanks for asking
At sixteen years old, I wanted it so bad
So often and with everyone
At night, my lids tremble
And I take it slow and with curiosity
I make it like a sacred circle of trees
At night, under covers, with the bedroom windows open, it’s holy
At twenty-four years old, I thought I knew death
Was sure it had something to do with ego
At night, my temp drops
And I only hope to wake up in balance
And still breathing
At night, surrounded by pillows, I imagine life free of measurement and rulers
Dream, always in dream, the past
The past awaits, to shape me
Into these unknown, bifurcated futures
Edward Vidaurre
From Pandemia & Other Poems, 2020, Aztlan Libre Press. https://aztlanlibrepress.com/pandemia-by-edward-vidaurre/