LEFTOVERS

by Daniel Romo

I’m waiting or dehydrating in this midlife loop, 

stuck between nothing and what to do, thirsty 

for a shot of life’s finest spirits and a sip of 

more than just stagnancy. Meanwhile, the 

taco man that sets up across the street from 

me everynight calls out sick on Instagram 

for fear of being caught up in the immigration 

sweep that’s devoured the Southland. One 

minute you’re slicing al pastor for a hungry 

Caucasian community, the next you’re seized 

by men hiding in masks and Americana. I 

prefer my carne asada with a slight char and 

I’m not even mad as the protesters burn the 

US flag in the Long Beach streets because the 

man who likes his meat rare and the neighbor 

who wants it well-done both bleed out when 

hurt and my city is being stabbed, which 

resurrects me as my blood boils into an 

inferno while I offer a torch to scorch every 

dirty star, to incinerate every misplaced stripe.

Daniel Romo writes, lives, and loves in Long Beach, CA.

SERMON

by Daniel Romo

Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram.
—Matthew 1:2-3

The egg begat 
the chicken and 
the farmer begat 
overalls and
the middleman begat 
the supermarket.
 
The coffee begat 
the customer and 
the bean begat 
the roast and 
the desire begat 
the brand.
 
The strawberry begat 
the pickers and 
brown hands begat 
ICE and 
Native Americans begat 
the land.
 
MAGA begat 
the bullies and
an outdated amendment begat 
the gun and
the school shooter begat 
the bodies.
 
The Bible begat 
the commandments and 
scripture begat 
cherry-picking and
nationalism begat 
hypocrisy.
 
Adam begat 
Eve and 
the rib begat 
the barbecue
and the flames begat 
the fire.
 
Injustice begat 
the boycott and 
hope begat
light and 
the day begat 
the struggle.

Daniel Romo's latest book is Bum Knees and Grieving Sunsets.

BLADING

by Daniel Romo

Abdullah the Butcher

The politician wasn’t struck in the assassination attempt

and only his ear was grazed, but the trickle of his blood caused

          half the country to cry, Hero!

          and the other half to yell, Staged!

though no one can deny 

octogenarians are more brittle bones 

than bulletproof, and 

all’s fair in love and reward.

 

There are those who claim we never landed on the Moon 

and those who maintain the Earth is flat,

yet that doesn’t change the fact that 

           Abdullah the Butcher 

secretly sliced his forehead with a razorblade during matches 

in the days when wrestling was supposed to be 

                     considered real,

and his blood poured down onto his opponents 

like a christening for non-believers in the crowd 

at a baptism rooted in amusement      

and self-mutilation.

 

My dad didn’t initially recognize me as I visited

him and my mom this weekend

and blamed it on his cataracts.

And while that may be the cause,

I clearly see what’s to come 

for us all. 

 

When a platform is based upon pretending 

and failure to acknowledge that it’s not true sport 

but entertainment,

who could blame the public’s skepticism 

when a former president is clipped by a sniper 

and seconds later raises his fist to Heaven

as if not giving praise, but 

milking the most out of 

                                life’s misses?

 

I’m sure the candidate will still be able to hear 

from his right ear 

but never listen.

 

I’m sure my dad will continue to deny

the natural by-products of his age

 

because lies build like

scar tissue piled up upon skin,

like fresh dirt piled upon 

graves. 

Daniel Romo is half curve ball, half prose poem, half bodega. Proof at danieljromo.com.

DISS TRACK

by Daniel Romo

Drake & Kendrick Lamar’s Rocky Relationship Explained —Billboard, June 20, 2024

The origin of a hip-hop beef is seasoned 

with special sauce and 

Slauson’s finest hype men.

 

A feud rooted in accusations of

appropriation is a (rap) battle for the ages,

authenticity, and 

audience approval. 

 

Wop, wop, wop,

            wop, wop!

 

It becomes personal when a man’s 

motives, morals, and music 

are called into question

all in one.

 

Calling out and crip-walking all over

one’s (stage) name is no doubt

a slander to be handled 

because being hard 

protects a soft ego.

 

Hoodlife, my ass more like phony contrive /

Street cred, psh, boy you rep Rodeo Drive.

 

It’s a fickle world, this rap game—

where artists go from 

collaborators to haters,    

 

   from OG to enemy,

 

      from riding

           to dying.

Daniel Romo's latest book is Bum Knees and Grieving Sunsets (FlowerSong Press 2023). 

BINGE-WATCHING

by Daniel Romo

For Tyre

 

 

While viewing the reality show in which contestants

make knives from piles of metal, I think of the latest

 

group of police officers posing as contestants on their

own reality show where they compete by beating and

 

hammering out their victims, not to create an edge

sharp enough to slice through water bottles and sugar

 

cane, but to see which cop can deliver a kill shot of

their own. At the end of round one, the blades are

 

presented to the judges and whoever created the blade

that needs the most correction is eliminated, while in

 

round one, the cop on the scene that shows the most

acts of compassion is gone. In round two, handles are

 

added for grasping and the creator of the knife that

hurts the hand while being wielded is sent home and

 

in round two, the man in blue who tries to grip his

colleague into submission after repeated body blows

 

to the victim is asked not to return to the division.

The final round consists of the forgers returning

 

home to replicate a sword or ax or other weapon used

in battle by an extinct civilization. Upon returning to

 

the stage and after being tested and evaluated to see

who made the most accurate and devastatingly brutal

 

replica, the winner is selected and awarded $10,000,

while the winning police officer is determined by who

 

gets the most media coverage and who abused their

authority in the worst way all while finding the most

 

innocent man to kill.

Daniel Romo's latest book is Bum Knees and Grieving Sunsets (Flowersong Press 2023)