December 11, 2012

i’ve added the word ‘linger’
to the current list of words
that repeat themselves in my head

i find it oddly appropriate that words like
‘linger’ and ‘remnant’
have latched on to my train of thought

like kite tails, knotted
like memories of things that hurt when remembered
pieces left behind after the fray

some things can’t be washed or wished away

the loss of a loved one
the memory of a bad break up
the words you overheard somebody say about you

linger

July 10, 2012

a blissful moment of
tranquility
inside my head

on any given
summer night
the stimuli perspires

Putting down the letters. – March 26, 2011. Boyle Heights, CA – A night of written letters and spoken words, a young man prepares for his turn on the dais.

It took me way too long to post this writer. I first read Aquino while part of a writers workshop: www.theundeniables.org.

But it was on the last day of this seasons Tuesday Night Cafe in J-Town that I met him. The Tuesday Night Cafe is a poetry and performance showcase that has survived for eleven years under the navigation of Traci Kato-Kiriyama. He dedicated this poem to her on the night I was there. I’ve wanted to post it since that day and I’m glad I finally got around to doing this.

Below is the poem he read on that night and I’ve included two other poems by Aquino.

Enjoy.

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The following poem is from Jim Marquez’s latest book “Heart of the Beast-Collected Love Stories” available exclusively at ANTIGUA COFFEE HOUSE in Cypress Park, or at www.LuLu.com/JimMarquez.

Jim has self-published 9 books in the past 5 years and is the Editor of the “Citizen LA”, a monthly arts & culture magazine out of Downtown Los Angeles serving the arts communities of the City of Angels. In addition to being born & raised in East LA, he is a proud graduate of East Los Angeles College & Cal State LA.
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He Was Dancing With A Beautiful Woman

Slow dancing in a dive bar, mid-week, not in downtown.

This was a dream, right?

A mid-west beauty,

In my arms

An actual lady…         (more…)

Ominous angels overlook the dark ballrooms of the Alexandria.

As I drove west on Cesar Chavez the downtown skyline stabbed at the heavens and I could see a dark cloud looming from the Pacific, threatening our city, but as Tom Waits uttered maladies on my radio I embraced the ominous cumulus as a good omen. I was on my way to visit some of the darkest hallways and stairwells that exist in Los Angeles. Rumors of spirits lurking have drawn me here tonight.

These “appearances”, along with the tenants in the old buildings, are rapidly changing nowadays but underneath it all is a soul that you cannot supplant. Just take a walk down Spring or Main Street late one night to feel the remnants of the past; spirits of yesteryear still electrify the passageways.

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