in the book of the life I have made, my memory would
appear cursed, and halfway, by affairs
and irrational fears: Capitalism in inescapable. We were popular
with men knew.
Light sticks my white tennis shorts,
and life feels life in a city for each still visible and waiting.
This is the 21st century.
We never leave the life is elsewhere. The clemency of men disapears
as does the light, tarring the roofs.
From The Life Assignment (Four Way Books, 2020) by Ricardo Alberto Maldonado. Copyright © 2020 by Ricardo Alberto Maldonado. Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Four Way Books.