Monday, February 10, 2014

"Identity," by Julio Noboa


Identity
- Julio Noboa

1                     Let them be flowers,
2                     always watered, fed, guarded, admired,
3                     but harnessed to a pot of dirt.

4                     I’d rather be a tall, ugly weed,
5                     clinging on cliffs, like an eagle
6                     wind-wavering above high, jagged rocks.

7                     To have broken through the surface of stone
8                     to live, to feel exposed to the madness
9                     of the vast, eternal sky.
10                 To be swayed by the breezes of an ancient sea,
11                 carrying my soul, my seed beyond the mountains of time
12                 or into the abyss of the bizarre.

13                 I’d rather be unseen, and if,

14                 then shunned by everyone
15                 than to be a pleasant-smelling flower,
16                 growing in clusters in the fertile valley
17                 where they’re praised, handled, and plucked
18                 by greedy, human hands.

19                 I’d rather smell of musty, green stench
20                 than of sweet, fragrant lilac.
21                 If I could stand alone, strong and free,
22                 I’d rather be a tall, ugly weed.

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