Fall 2009, Volume 7

Poetry by Peter Andrade

The Poet's Last Request

I want to pluck the eyes of Lorca
to better see the stars,
how they wink like grandmothers,
run off like bears.

How they burst crazy into the blue
chemical imbalance
embraced by the night, quelled
by the Prozac of morning. 

A blanket draped over a birdcage
does not fool an owl,
the sun blinding off the ocean
does little to convince me

of their absence: that they do not
exist as pocks of light
spattered across the cheek
of a once adolescent sky.

The palpitation of arteries
in aftershock of the heart,
the beat of countless stars connected
to the pulse of the sun.

Is it better to contrast muddied black
opposing the moon,
or reflect like silica in the vast
sand of endless desert?

I want to rip the hand of Vincent
to paint blaring circles,
to suit in the skin of Beethoven
to feel the pitch of vibration.

I want to look at constellations
and planets not
thinking of plastic adhesive
faintly aglow in a child's room.

 

BIO:  Peter Andrade was born and raised in the Coachella Valley. He moved to Long Beach in 2002 where he attended Long Beach City College and eventually California State University Long Beach. Currently, he spends his time writing prose and poetry and collecting influences along the way.