A Cuban Modernist in Miami
Transcendental poses are fractured by migration
In Rafael Soriano’s chimeras
dreams transpire through the electric human
A body can pitch several lingams—
there is only one home
as it returns from another journey
a new sunrise
an orange memory
hand pointing the indigo way inward
A conjurer throws a fistful of lips
five teeth tell the sunburst story . . .
When we search for an object
there is only finding the quest
it is after all
like that—
you merge you speak
there is art
& you find your way home
inside the infinite
Copyright © 2024 by Adrian Castro. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on December 4, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
“I wrote this poem as part of a series of ekphrastic poems about Miami. I was fascinated by [Rafael] Soriano’s artistic and immigration stories, by his persistence in making art, and by the narrative arc of his paintings. I thought it was emblematic of the experience of Miami. I wanted to capture that in verse and rhythm.”
—Adrian Castro
Adrian Castro
Adrian Castro is a Latino poet and the author of three collections of poetry: Handling Destiny (Coffee House Press, 2009); Wise Fish (Coffee House Press, 2005); and Cantos to Blood & Honey (Coffee House Press, 1997). A recipient of the USA and CINTAS fellowships, Castro lives in Miami.