Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal

A Quiet Voice

by Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal

After Leonard Cirino

A quiet voice lingers in the distance

somewhere being guided by a steady

wind, traveling like song deep in

the pygmy forest where a poet lives

in the dreams of oaks and their bark

and wounded branches. Together

they howl at the silent moon and

tend to a reptile’s gouged out skin

at the edge of the pygmy forest

feeling the heat of an encroaching

fire. The quiet voice seeks to fan

away the flames, the red moon, a

sad reflection of the fire below.

The Blue Flame

by Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal

Keep your hands off the burner.

Its flame only speaks one language.

Afterward it will not comfort you.

Its duty is not to warn but to burn.

This is why I shy away from love

and all its trappings. This is why

I don’t ever whisper the word in your

ear. These burnt lips know better.

The heart wants what it wants and its

desire will only lead to the blue flame.

No amount of tears will extinguish

the aftermath of a life smoldering.

Keep your hands off the burner.

I will not repeat these words again.

Luis lives in California and works in Los Angeles. His poetry, art, and photography has appeared in Black Petals, Blue Collar Review, Kendra Steiner Editions, Medusa's Kitchen, Rogue Wolf Press, Venus in Scorpio Poetry Journal, and Yellow Mama Webzine.