Two Poems by Christian Garduno

 

i love you, trouble

She's so far ahead of the frame, the perfect ending to this White Summer-
she just do it when it come down to it
you’re like Taylor & she's all Lana
you’re on FM, while she's AM
she’s always knows which song to spin
now it's in my skin

i love you, trouble
i love it when you say it's all my fault-
And I've been dressing skimpier & skimpier around you-
i don’t know why, i just like you--
She says I don’t think they call it Chinese food in China;
I think they just call it food...
And she says: Order is as thin as the lines on the street
trust me, I've seen it break down a couple of times

Ah, Summerlyn, i hope you never see the fall
She says- I love 3 a.m.
that's when I feel like I'm the only one awake in all the world
like I have the Mystery all to myself
I really fell for you this year, in our last invincible season
i love you, trouble
You’re my 4 A.M. sonic prayer when i feel mercy crawling back...
well, it's only grace coming to


She knows you have build your arc before the flood
sometimes you hunt with the hounds
other times you run with the foxes...
and the way her hair cut you
when everything she did was astonishing 

 

 

 

 

*

 

Kodeen 

 

A summer song in the deep of winter
a shiny chirp to shake the icing off the leaves
you are so out of my time-zone
no one believes you when you’ve come this far down
and where I’m from, a man must pay for his sins
& Heaven help me if they don’t accept cash on delivery
you’re so outside my expanding tiny universe
and there’s not enough holy water to quench my thirst tonight
when I recall all my wicked intents, wicked incidents
the River Jordan couldn’t cleanse me
and the Devil wants you to know

I hope they take cash upon delivery
there’s never enough fire-water, because I’m so damned thirsty
so send to me a song of summer in the dead of winter
you should know by now, I’m a sucker for a melody 

Heaven freezes over, walk on water, walk on ice, walk on snow 

I do hope they accept cash on delivery, you know 

I’m fairly certain there’s plenty of Hell to pay 

that’s what the bad news in the Good Book says
there’s no one left but the Devil to impress  

Heaven help me and don’t let me guess 

there’s one thing I would love to know
if they accept cash upon delivery before I go 

__

Christian Garduno’s work can be read in over 65 literary magazines. He is the recipient of the 2019 national Willie Morris Award for Southern Poetry. Garduno is a Finalist in the 2020-2021 Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Writing Contest. He lives and writes along the South Texas coast with his wonderful wife Nahemie and young son Dylan. 

Cover Image: Wallpaper Access