Two Poems
ode to ocean or what’s in it
healthy boundaries exist before
father, ashes swept border
less wall there extends
planks set other free
lost in texas once
found hours later, useless
cousin recalls when that
trip down baja felt
infinite: motel with roaches
that waiter with lisp
gas attendant who whistled his
ch’s couldn’t stop laughing
between pacific & atlantic
luminous // dismal
every time i’m near
ocean speaks father
speaks highway 101
twin bridges open
drunk at night i
heard my father whisper
waves did not respond what
is left to say, confer with
therapist plays ocean sound
maybe father too, wind
pestering central coast, a
bored summer romance surfing
alone, sublime evening sky
bruised like father bruised
like us both
7/21/1984
(DEA)R ERICK
I WILL LIKE YOU
TO BE A GOOD
BOY AND TO TAKE
CARE (OF) YOUR
MOTHER AND TO
ALWAYS REMEMBER
ME YOUR FATHE(R)
RENE SAENZ
What to make of smudge // words spread from water or sweat // same tears maybe then although I was only 5 // this mystery know alcohol would take your life // was it planned acceptance
all caps make bold // “of” erased still remnant the first poem // found years later unspoken //
“dea…” invisible and what was this // notebook kept back pocket or glove box or other place to write // things fathers can’t say aloud I don’t know I’m not (yet) or maybe never // use “will” because bad English or show present tense like we exist // this world on serrated paper
line after line reads well like poem // like first poem I received // I wouldn’t know until years later // were poet, too.
Erick Sáenz is a first generation Latin(x) writer and teacher from Los Angeles, California. He’s the founding editor of Lilac Press, a small DIY imprint that releases limited-run chapbooks. He was previously a contributing editor for the online magazine Cheers From The Wasteland. In addition to several self published chapbooks and zines, his writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Entropy, Alien Mouth, Elderly Magazine, Pinball, Hobart Pulp, Five:2:One Magazine, Deluge, and others. SUSURROS A MI PADRE is out now via The Operating System. You can find him online at: www.ericksaenz.com