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Esteban Rodríguez

10 El árbol

Before the river, a town,
and before the town, kilometers
of land filled with sagebrush,
carcasses, mirages scuttling
like rats. And though everything
looks a like prop, your father
trudges on, aware that the group
he entered this scene with
is no longer behind him,
that in the days to come
he will trek this stretch of earth
by himself, move from bush
to bush, rock to rock, until the sun,
having lashed a thousand fevers
on his skin, commands that his body
buckles, bends, moves beneath
the shade of the nearest tree,
where he will take off his backpack,
sit, sip water like it was the blood
of Christ, and wait till he can rise
again, till he doesn’t feel,
every time he takes a step,
that some part of this world
is about to end.

Biography

Picture
Esteban Rodríguez (he/him) is the author of the poetry collections Dusk & Dust, Crash Course, In Bloom, (Dis)placement, and The Valley. His work has appeared in Boulevard, Shenandoah, The Rumpus, TriQuarterly, and elsewhere. He is the Interviews Editor for the EcoTheo Review, an Assistant Poetry Editor for AGNI, and a regular reviews contributor for [PANK] and Heavy Feather Review. He lives with his family in Austin, Texas.
 
            Twitter: @estebanjrod11
            Facebook: facebook.com/estebanjrodriguez
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  • Home
  • About
    • Contributors List
    • KD's Blog
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    • Contact
  • Press
  • Issues
    • Issue 25
    • Issue 24
    • Issue 23
    • Issue 22
    • Issue 21
    • Issue 20
    • Issue 19
    • Issue 18
    • Serenity
    • Issue 17
    • The Audio Room
    • Issue 16
    • Issue 15
    • Issue 14
    • Play It Again
    • Issue 13
    • Issue 12
    • Issue 11
    • Issue 10
    • Issue 9
    • Issue 8
    • Issue 7
    • Issue 6
    • Hand to Mouth
    • Issue 5
    • Issue 4
    • Issue 3
    • Issue 2
    • Issue 1
  • Submissions