3 Poems by Alejandro Escudé

The Cigar Bar of the Universe

Nowhere to stop
Except the cigar bar of the universe
Where the waitress scoots over an ashtray

And pours
More ice and whiskey
—And I drink only that one drink and smoke
An Arturo Fuente cigar,
Until it’s gone, before strolling
Along the Mississippi River
With crescent moon
And starry sky. The monkeys fly above me
On their way back

To Culver City, where I once read about
The Munchkins of Oz, who took over
The hotel, reveling in numerous orgies.
I laughed all the way home, then.

But I am not there right now,
Nor am I at the cigar bar
Of the universe, where I once sat and smoked
An Arturo Fuente cigar,
Meeting no one along the way.


Each Man

Each man drags himself
Across the executioner’s table
As he sharpens the blade.
The table is full of stars,
The executioner has no name.


The Unprepared

Last night's dream was of the Principal
Taking over another school, as a dictator might
Take over a neighboring country.

I sidled up to the Principal
And suggested another school to take further down the road.
There were downed trees. A bulldozer lifted
Children’s bodies like multicolored scraps of wool.


Bionote

Alejandro Escudé is the winner of the 2013 Sacramento Poetry Center Award. His first collection, "My Earthbound Eye," is now available. Originally from Argentina, Alejandro is an English teacher lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids. Interested readers can go to alejandroescude.com for more information.