Two poems by Christian Ortega

CONTENDIDO 300 cm³

the last time you forgot my name
my hands fell apart—at the tips

base with all terms aside, it begins
as soon as they end

somehow you still think it’s me in that wind
but the truth is i forgot to brush my hair

wine & romance with canopy closed
pretty lies can bring forth rain

amistad civil and cupboards laden
a great fall tumbles onto hope

there’s hidden purpose in this kindness
i fled instead

give up the receipt, benevolent bitch!
under fire, under uruguay, in no heat

i will find you—i will never love
i will never love anybody

Classified

Finally, found it!, here—the smell of you—a cloth the length of your arm, a mindful sullen brow, a melancholic song, your charm, once near and dear to heart, knows how deep the veins go. As lovers we lived on fool, suspicious of the quiet, we walked in fields we didn’t farm, never thinking that harm lay closely hidden. I can’t look at the night for fear it may tremble, releasing a vengeful silence, a fork tuning no one. We tried and failed, too many times spent sat, never seeing nature, on high, stacking this small deck against us. So late now and forgone and not much of anything to be done about it… Dark will reminds us all what comes before an awaited pain.

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Image: “Encaustic Morning Face” by Bill Cawley