Vita Nuova
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.
Ricardo Alberto Maldonado
Ricardo Alberto Maldonado was born and raised in Puerto Rico. A graduate of Tufts and Columbia University’s School of the Arts, he is the author of The Life Assignment (Four Way Books, 2020), a finalist for the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, one of Remezcla’s Best Books by Latina or Latin American Authors, and Silver Medalist for the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award.