Aurelio Rico Lopez III

Michelangelo had the Sistine Chapel;

Beethoven had his music;

And Twain had Tom and Huck.

Locked up in my cell,

I ask myself

Will I be remembered?

What legacy will I leave behind?

Women and men

Burned, strangled, stabbed,

Shot, run over, and drowned.

Forty-one in all.

Will people remember me?

My cellmate snores,

And I watch his chest rise and fall.

I think of Leonardo’s David

And Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Maybe 41 isn’t enough.

Lovely Charred Eyes

Aurelio Rico Lopez III

The house is a crippled leper

Disfigured with blistered paint

And cracked tiles and glass.

Veiled figures silently

Lay bouquets of flowers

On the porch remains.

The rains fail to rid the

Acrid stench;

Tears unable to wash away

The nightmare of the blaze

That consumed the family

While they slumbered.

Half-buried in ash and rubble,

A doll with burnt clothing and hair

Admires the blooms

With lovely charred eyes.

Death Symphony

Aurelio Rico Lopez III

Rhapsody of murder

In three-fourths time signature.

Rhythm of nails

Impaling themselves

Into hardwood coffins;

Jingling chains coupled with

Fists pounding against lid;

A chorus of muffled screams.

Click of pistol hammer.

Fine.

Aurelio Rico Lopez III is a self-diagnosed scribble junkie from Iloilo City, Philippines. His poems have appeared in various venues such as Mythic Delirium, Star*Line, Sybil’s Garage, The Horror Express, Dark Animus, Goblin Fruit, Scifaikuest, Kaleidotrope, Tales of the Talisman, Electric Velocipede, Black Petals, The Fifth Di’, and elsewhere. He is also the author of the chapbooks Jolts and Shocks (Sam’s Dot Publishing. You can reach him at thirdylopez2001@yahoo.com