Two new poems for our readers from U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera in honor of National Poetry Month. Hear him speak at SCU’s commencement in June.
Though U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera honors poetry daily through his life’s work he is celebrating the art even more this month in honor of National Poetry Month by sending SCU two special poems. The first Latino poet named U.S. poet laureate, Herrera writes passionately about social issues and is a performance artist and activist on behalf of migrant and indigenous communities and at-risk youth. His work has been known to cross genres, even into opera and dance theatre. Herrera will be the featured speaker at Santa Clara University’s 166th undergraduate commencement ceremony. He’s no stranger to the Mission Campus. He has been hosted by the student-edited Santa Clara Review and counts as one of his early mentors and good friends Professor Emeritus Francisco Jiménez ’66.
little wall big wall
big wall on the streets big wall its me
remember me hello hello little wall wall big wall
hello big wall can I come in
big wall little wall big wall little wall little
wall
little
wall
big wall
little wall
big wall little little little wall
big wall little little little little little
wall hello remember me
little wall hello hello
can I come in big wall little wall
big
big
big wall hello
(can I come in)
all alone big wall locked door
can I come in little wall I have
the
key
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The Fruit Fly & Its Yeast, Its Protein Function
& its yearning its dragonfly
its solar eclipse its matrix
its book body the fruit fly & its yeast
the yeast & its protein
function & its
yearning its human
book its Darwinian yeast
its protein function yeast
it stays in its fruit fly
face & its twig its landscape
of fullness w/o the book
w/o
the dragonfly yearning