Sergio Ortiz
Sergio A. Ortiz is a two-time Pushcart nominee, a four-time Best of the Web nominee, and 2016 Best of the Net nominee. 2nd place in the 2016 Ramón Ataz Annual Poetry Competition. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in FRIGG, Tipton Poetry Journal, Drunk Monkeys, Bitterzeot Magazine, and ONE: Jacar Press. He is currently working on his first full-length collection of poems, Elephant Graveyard.
Published 05/25/17
Published 05/25/17
"Farewell to Black"
Breaking bones with bones
that's how you left,
like bird’s leave
like your last light step.
There are black stains
in the name you were given.
These things stay:
mystery with its dim black shadow,
your deep enthusiasm for sadness,
the black, deadly vertigo
that overpowered you,
the tears I cry for myself.
The soul comes out of you
without recognizing sizes, figures.
You grope, embrace what is not.
Little by little life blew you upward,
hit and hurt you, crashing what was
already stopped, like your last
light step at summer’s end.
"Nostalgic Rainy Afternoon"
I close my eyes
create an opaque image
diminishing the light flashing
in the void, but in so doing,
I get lost. I scream,
silence steals my voice,
so, I return to thought.
Wandering around like this,
between images I could never touch,
memories withering
until my will is faint.
Sitting on the corroded bench,
time leaves me at summer’s end. I wait
for small confiscated moments. The day
we met to share old stories
no one remembers.
I paint stars in the sky
so you do not notice I am so small.
I leave a trail of footprints on the sand,
tell my stories, convince you I am true.
I place an order with the universe
so you are assured I'm still here.
On nostalgic rainy afternoons
I travel to your thoughts,
so you do not forget
all that I remember.
"Anarchies"
The past burns.
I, fertile, heroic, immense
tentative domain, pronounce
my farewell to illusions.
These days, paradise is for thieves
and haunted travelers.
The new, a creature of magic.
We invent the sequence,
another temple, convincing doubts.
Managing the world requires solace
as we search for forgiveness.
This novelty has the structure
of a heartbreak poster. We stand up,
fight, deceiving ourselves
without accomplishing anything,
we disappear escorted
by the past dressed
in blue.
Breaking bones with bones
that's how you left,
like bird’s leave
like your last light step.
There are black stains
in the name you were given.
These things stay:
mystery with its dim black shadow,
your deep enthusiasm for sadness,
the black, deadly vertigo
that overpowered you,
the tears I cry for myself.
The soul comes out of you
without recognizing sizes, figures.
You grope, embrace what is not.
Little by little life blew you upward,
hit and hurt you, crashing what was
already stopped, like your last
light step at summer’s end.
"Nostalgic Rainy Afternoon"
I close my eyes
create an opaque image
diminishing the light flashing
in the void, but in so doing,
I get lost. I scream,
silence steals my voice,
so, I return to thought.
Wandering around like this,
between images I could never touch,
memories withering
until my will is faint.
Sitting on the corroded bench,
time leaves me at summer’s end. I wait
for small confiscated moments. The day
we met to share old stories
no one remembers.
I paint stars in the sky
so you do not notice I am so small.
I leave a trail of footprints on the sand,
tell my stories, convince you I am true.
I place an order with the universe
so you are assured I'm still here.
On nostalgic rainy afternoons
I travel to your thoughts,
so you do not forget
all that I remember.
"Anarchies"
The past burns.
I, fertile, heroic, immense
tentative domain, pronounce
my farewell to illusions.
These days, paradise is for thieves
and haunted travelers.
The new, a creature of magic.
We invent the sequence,
another temple, convincing doubts.
Managing the world requires solace
as we search for forgiveness.
This novelty has the structure
of a heartbreak poster. We stand up,
fight, deceiving ourselves
without accomplishing anything,
we disappear escorted
by the past dressed
in blue.