New Santa Ana

The Santa Ana Literary Association will be presenting a new poem by a local poet every week this year. This week’s poem is “I do not write for them” by D.W. Blake.

I do not write for them

D.W. Blake

I do not write for them whom beauty is a matter of form
I do not wish to be rarified, put off, above, or suspended
I spend nights by the counter
I hold close my television
I have squalors in my heart
the squalors: Anime, Batman, Elvis, Nintendo, Batman, Lego Batman, Hermione Granger,
Batman, Bukowski and even more
Batman
but these are a magic kind of squalor
I do not fetishize words, I am not beloved of language
I am enamored of meanings, I raise up the idea
and the idea above all: beauty _
This is not the beauty
of flowers or people
This is not the beauty
of clouds or feelings
This is not the beauty
of bodies or meaning
This is not the beauty
of selves or urns
This is not the beauty
of It or Not
It is not
I feel the beauty of the true sight,
I gush out pilgrims to the cliffs of true knowing
(Ouch) these are no mistakes
This is not the beauty of truth or the truth of beauty
This is a truth of transcendences
This truth can hold flowers or people or clouds or feelings or bodies or meanings or selves or
urns but they are not it
This is the truth from out
This is the truth beyond
(Is this not God?) (This is my God!)

I do not know knowing or touch from sight or hearing from taste or smell from knowing
but this is my God
I do not know Jesus
Maybe this is Jesus
I do not know Buddha
Maybe this is Buddha
I do not know Yog-Sothoth
Maybe this is Yog-Sothoth
I do not know Saturn
Maybe these are aliens
Maybe Jesus worships them too
Maybe god worships this too
I do not know
God
I do not know
God
But I will write them to ask

D.W. Blake is a former resident of Santa Ana. When not attempting to spell he fakes guitar in music organs such as Daryl Blake and Grinning Ghosts. He loves podcasts and enjoys pretending he is a wizard. Last year he self-published a collection of poetry called Bows for Drella.

We are a bit behind so this week we are presenting two poems of the week by the Santa Ana Literary Association including “Moon” by Juan Cárdenas and “Luna” by Sarah Rafael Garcia.

Moon

By: Juan Cárdenas

Flock of ghost bleeding,
fruit with aura nectar
imprisoned by night
Dragging your silver chains
in the quiet cosmos
stardust veins
White sage flower
smooth and cool,
mellow zamba,
jewel of Venice
Coin of the holy,
Bossa nova in orbit
dancing in the ocean shore
no stone unlit
feline goddess fountain of whiskers
Trance inducing tickle.

Luna

Sangrando fantasmas,
fruta con néctar de aura
encarcelada por la noche,
arrastras tus cadenas de plata
en los cosmos silenciosos.
Venas de polvo de estrellas,
flor de salvia blanca.
Cumbia y caderas,
zamba tranquila.
Joya del mar,
moneda de diosa.
bosanova en órbita
bailando en la orilla del mar
Enciendes la arena
Lumbre azul,
Que quemas la noche.

Juan Cárdenas is a Poet, Flautist and Educator for California Poets in the Schools. He is the Associate Director of the non-profit organization called Los Angeles Poet Society and is the Author of the book of Poetry called “The Beat of an Immigrant Chicano” released March 2020 by Swan World Press in Paris, France. Juan was originally born in Leon, Guanajuato Mexico and raised in the City of Panorama City in San Fernando Valley California. Juan’s poetry is about the human experience growing up as an immigrant in The Valley of San Fernando, Los Angeles, and the heartache of loss of belonging.

A POEM TO MY CITY, SANTA ANA

after Cathy Arellano

By: Sarah Rafael Garcia

they say gentrification is when my land
has more value when someone else owns it
i have yet to own property in my city, i guess
my books are of no value to you, Santa Ana
i was invited to your business council, was told
my opinions don’t matter in English, even less in Spanish
did you know over 300 thousand people live here?
of course you do. you’re the city. you just don’t prioritize us
you talk a good talk about inclusivity and small businesses
but order from amazon and think patches and pins are cultura
did you know your residents are about 80% Latinx?
of course you do. you’re the city. you just don’t prioritize us
you get support from developers and federal funds, you dismiss
the fruteros, the quinceañera shops y los libros on La Cuatro
did you know we used to have Fiestas Patrias?
of course you do. you’re the city. you just replaced them
you install a street trolly for future tourists, dismantle
our streets and lose our only bookstore again
you think this poem is a joke. i don’t care
what you think, but you know i have to

Raised in Santa Ana, Sarah Rafael Garcia has over 13 years of experience as an Arts Leader in OC. She’s the founder of Barrio Writers, LibroMobile and Crear Studio—all art programs initiated as a response to build cultural relevance and equity for BIPOC folks in her community. As of 2020, her community projects collectively established the LibroMobile Arts Cooperative. IG: @cuentosmobile @libromobile @crearstudio

Tag Archives: Juan Cárdenas

The Santa Ana Poem of the Week is “I do not write for them” by D.W. Blake

The latest poems of the week are “Moon” by Juan Cárdenas and “after Cathy Arellano” by Sarah Rafael Garcia