In this imaginative collection of poems, Michael La Ronn obeys his muse and creates colorful experiences of delicacy and wonder. They are fearless and leave nothing unexplored, no words wasted.
This diverse collection stands on equal ground with La Ronn’s prose works, and it establishes him as an important poet of the millennial generation.
SUMMONED
What is this light that fills the suburban sky?
What is this glimmering green that makes Orion’s belt-holes
glitter rapid-fire? Why does it descend like ethereal fog,
skimming the shingles of houses,
turning windows into emerald microcosms?
You don’t know, but as it lowers over you,
little balls break off, dance the neighborhood,
sparkle locks open, and surprise everyone in their sleep.
You don’t know why, but it feels right
as little fingers of light lift you from the ground,
exalt you toward a slow swirl in the stars.
You gush in rapture and say finally, you’ve come
to the colony of eyes gathered around the operating table
where you have been placed.
Genre: POETRY / GeneralSALSA DANCING
What surprises us about this terrace,
sixty floors above the city,
is not the salsa dancers moving like liquid
across the concrete
or the piñata lanterns
festooned on ropes above.
It’s the view: an electric gasp of night,
the glare of the city ballooning against the horizon.
A squat salvodoreño sings in broken English
from the stage, invites us to dance. Between
the silence of two songs, we step across the floor.
The music begins again. I spin you round. We dance
ovals in the concrete, the steam from our footsteps misting
at our ankles.
The space around our bodies
becomes a kinetic blur
and we stamp the floor into salsa.
God, peeping with pride through Orion’s belt holes,
is so pleased, she grabs the Big Dipper and turns it into a timbale.
She bangs it as the nacho moon scoops us up
and spreads us across the stars.
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Mafalda Pinto
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Author review: Mafalda was very professional and great to work with. Her translations did a great job of keeping the spirit of my poems. |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Rocío García Romero
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Author review: I cannot recommend Rocio enough. Not only did she do a great translation, she cared about the work and was very hands-on throughout the process, which I appreciated. I would recommend Rocioto authors and poets looking to expand their reach in Spanish. |
