Game Plan

At the high school football game
you act so aloof

you deny our past
but I've got proof

the score was tied
for a while

by second period
it was a blow out

your cousin made
a lot of tackles

after the game
as we stood on the field

celebrating the win
with family and friends

a smile fell from a corner
of your mouth

and bounced like a football
out of bounds

La Perra

                 in memory of Florinda Lopez

In junior high
La Perra

short and stocky
scared not only the girls

but even the boys.
that evil eye she gave you

wasn't free,
there was a vicious rumor

that someone
had seen her smile in 6th grade

but that couldn't be true
said the three cute girls

who were trying out
for the cheerleading squad.

La Perra might have had
a beautiful soul

but junior high
was just a missing link---

in high school La Perra
won district in shot put

Father And Daughter

You and your father

at the creek

my mind puts a fork

in the moment

time flies on anyway

its one wing metallic blue

a crane picks at floating trash

and shakes its head

the creek ambles and staggers

under your dress

I think you were

eleven then

the sky went all the way up

until it disappeared

Dr. Stella me la pela.