Mexican Bird: Brown Wings Through White Clouds

By Luis Lopez-Maldonado

"Mexican Bird sings from the heart. Its aches and love pangs punctuate the journey from Mexican life to queer desire, from quiet pain to vocal resistance, from the intimate world of the family nest to the unconstrained skies of freedom. A poet of deep reflection, Luis Lopez-Maldonado finds meaning in the most unexpected places, remindin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Querencia Press, LLC
• Release date: Feb 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9798330256044

Luis Lopez-Maldonado

Luis Lopez-Maldonado is a Xicanx activist, poeta, playwright, dancer, choreographer, and educator born and raised in Southern California. He/Him/They/Them earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Riverside, in Creative Writing and Dance. His/Their poetry has been seen in The American Poetry Review, Foglifter, The Packinghouse Review, Public Pool, and Latina Outsiders: Remaking Latina Identity, among many others. He/They also earned a Master of Arts degree in Dance from Florida State University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Notre Dame. He/They are currently adding glitter to the Land of Enchantment, working for the public educational system as a high school Bilingual Educator and Special Education Teacher, holding a Pre K-12 Special Education License and a Pre K-12 Specialty Area License, with endorsements in TESOL, Bilingual Education, Performing Arts, and English Language Arts. He/They are currently a candidate for the Education Specialist Certification and State Administration Licensure at the University of New Mexico.

Book preview

MEXICAN BIRD

Brown Wings Through White Clouds

Luis Lopez-Maldonado

Querencia Press

Chicago, IL

QUERENCIA PRESS

© Copyright 2024

Luis Lopez-Maldonado

All Rights Reserved

No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied, or transmitted save with the written permission of the author.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Cover art: Mia V. Espinoza

ISBN 978 1 959118 82 4

.

www.querenciapress.com

First Published in 2024

Querencia Press, LLC

Chicago IL

Printed & Bound in the United States of America

Advance Praise

"Luis Lopez-Maldonado’s poetry collection, Mexican Bird, is a stunning exploration of self, weaving together the personal, political, and social. His poems recall those of fellow queer Chicano poet Francisco X. Alarcón and their penchant for verse rich in cultural nuance and specificity. The musical conduct of these poems are brilliant and memorable, yielding surprise and inevitable suddenness of imagery across carefully crafted lines. They are brave in their encounters with human situations and immigrant voices. They embrace vulnerability juxtaposed with passion. I can say with great confidence that this collection will not disappoint! Truly this is a book worth reading!"

—Ernesto L. Abeytia, series Editor for The Digging Press Poetry Series

Poetry writes itself on our bodies while [l]ips are sewn into a new smile. Which is to say: this poemario, in the best of its pieces, compellingly marries language y cuerpo so that threaded eyebrows [start] / to grow in all directions / like spines on cacti. All throughout the poems in Mexican Birds, the portraiture in play, some of it stark, pulls no punches—[t]he blood stains /No longer stains / But art. And so, says this fierce speaker: [K]iss open my lips and look inside my mouth, in search of music.

—Francisco Aragón, author of After Rubén

I would like to thank everyone who read my poems and offered feedback from day one, from colleagues, to mentors. Gracias. To all those magazines and journals that gave most of these poems a home at the start of my career; I am forever grateful for your love and support. This collection of poems is dedicated to my familia, though some do not deserve it, and to the few friends I consider family as well. Here is to all of you. Cheers!

C O N T E N T S

Author’s Note

MIGRATION:

Brown In White America, Chicanismo

Dealing With Being Mexican

Alajuela In August

1960...

There Are Bodies

Desamparado, Helpless, And Wondering

I Love Being Brown But I Don’t Love It

HABITAT:

Death And Menudo

On Visiting El Granjenal, Michoacán After My Grandfather’s Death

On Life, Drag And Loneliness

Gin And Tonic

Just Loneliness

Mexican Bird

Dancing With Poetry

Tallahassee, FL

Driving Home From Irvine Valley College

Happy Birthday

!Vivá La Frida!

Staring

SPECIES:

Day Of The Dead: Orange County, California

I See Through Your Tongue, You Liar, Hanging From A PhotographOn My Bedroom Walls

Photografias

A Letter To Emily Dickinson

On Being High And Drunk: #Wheredowegofromhere

Sunday Catholic School

How i Imagine Satanas (the devil)

El Granjenal, Michoacán, December Traditions

Luis Lopez-Maldonado

Write A Poem About BROWN Without Using The Word Brown Or I

Write A Poem About TATTOO Without Using The Word Tattoo Or I

Write A Poem About SKIN Without Using The Word Skin or I

SURVIVAL:

Battle Of Puebla,