Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal - Issue 36

Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal was born in Mexico. His lives in California and works in the mental health field in Los Angeles. His poetry has appeared in print and online since the 1980's. His work has appeared in Blue Collar Review, Fixator Press, Impspired, Ink Sweat and Tears, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Mad Swirl, and Nerve Cowboy, Unlikely Stories. His books and chapbooks have been published by Alternating Current Press, Deadbeat Press, Four Feathers Press, KendraSteiner Editions, New Polish Beat, Poet's Democracy, Rogue Wolf Press, and Ten Pages Press (e-book).

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Now And Then

I break

now and then,

just so you know.

I break suddenly.

I will not lie to you.

My flesh burns for you

as silence devours me.

I become ash.

So much burns inside me

when I see your face.

I spiral out of control 

as my love for you consumes me.

Now and then I break.

What can I say?

I am beyond help

now and then.

I try to be discreet.

I take the day off

from time to time.

I hear an echo inside of me

which I try to drown out.

Between you and I,

now and then I break.

Your laugh puts me back together.

Your smile heals me

when I feel down

and undone.

When we hold hands

I keep my cool.

You are the flower

that grows inside of me.

Now and then

the wounds linger.

Now and then

I hide in a shadow.

Now and then the light shines through.

A Clear Afternoon

I brush my hair on a clear afternoon 

with only you on my mind.

Of course, we are going to meet.

All my sadness will retreat.

It is autumn and there is little chance

of rain. There is no foreboding 

of a cancellation. A splendid day

is all I am counting on.

It is all I have been looking forward to.

I persist to exist for love

or just the hope of it.

I am swift to judge myself too harsh.

Life postpones happy endings.

I have seen plans collapse

through these years too lean to slice.

I can see and feel the fire in me.

I sense it will devour me.

The afternoon remains clear.

In a matter of time we will meet.

In a matter of minutes in fact.

You Are Ready Now

Drop the pen.

You are not ready.

Turn to silence.

Stop thinking.

Run away.

Find a place you want

to write about.

Feel the air breathe.

Remember 

the day and the night.

Which one do you

prefer? Twilight?

The morning

sun? Let the ocean

sink into a

deeper ocean.

Dawn’s breath blows

all over you. It

is quiet.

It is silence.

Kick the rocks.

They are restless. Let

life go on.

You are ready now.