Dolphinating
For Albert Goldbarth & Margarita Robles Are you going to steal lines collect manual typewriters 8 miles high the serotonin Albert Goldbarth mentions the sugary night the howling speeding most of all are you going to hobble here— time travel? a possible future burns your dolphin karma forking out 500 lives from now Whitman in piyamas spotted leopard-like piercing the unavoidable Void the obsessed B-B-Q where we swoop Ersatz Mojo Bruja Hoodoo scribble it is popping Hendrix in your head it is Joplin & Flor Silvestre & Rosetta Tharpe & Itzpapalotl do you know how awake you are Noble 8 Fold Path too dark too lightning the visualization is next the Ukrainian purge the intercontinental money money O Tsunami where is my crystal realized selfie O my love my next Warhol dream in revolution rouge & where is my electric emerald wand rain Vajra roll the ink & fire stones unfold the third eyes the ten million arms of Tara & Einstein of compassion of mercy of nebula rails come alive jellyfish flags i bow to you jellyfish world wheel of swish & suffering
Credit
Copyright © 2014 by Juan Felipe Herrera. Used with permission of the author. This poem appeared in Poem-A-Day on March 11, 2014. Browse the Poem-A-Day archive.
About this Poem
“While listening to Albert Goldbarth read his line, ‘manual typewriters 8 miles high,’ in rocket speed, I wrote in similar manner. Later, I chipped and chopped words. Spiced it up a little with Ishmael Reed, His Holiness—the Dalai Lama and Einstein—they help me think about the big picture, about kindness and the unknown.”
—Juan Felipe Herrera
Author
Juan Felipe Herrera

Juan Felipe Herrera is the Poet Laureate of the United States. He served on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets from 2011 to 2016.
Date Published: 2014-03-11
Source URL: https://poets.org/poem/dolphinating