richard lopez
City at Nite: Early Spring
sleepy w/ the window open
80+ F today
still doomscrolling the war on my phone
the disrupted climate & the pandemic still at large
i hear the lifeflight helicopter make its approach to the hospital helipad
& behind that
the oceanic waves of the freeway
the flyblown pitch of a speeding motorcycle
sirens always sirens
police & fire & security services
& later while my lids get heavy
i hear the rustle of a raccoon & later an oppossom
on the porch eating the leftover cat food
to still get the news from poems
i look up jaan kaplinski
& read 'it was like this or a little bit different
it is like this or a little bit different'
this night is like every night
& a little bit different
the world is broken
Parts of Speech: No Shit
know what i'm saying/no/what i'm saying/is no
Tell Me About Your World
it's like leatherface in silhouette at the sliding steel door just before he slams it shut
richard lopez is a poet/blogger living in sacramento ca with his wife, son & cats. he has had many poems, essays & reviews published online & off. his most recent project was as a co-editor of the two volume anthology End of the World Project ed. by richard lopez, John Bloomberg-Rissman & T.C. Marshall [Moria Books; 2019] about climate change & the anthropocene.