As A Tribe Called Quest Vibrates from an Upstairs Apartment
I Consider Thermodynamics and
I am relieved to learn about the ways in which heat travels. 1) My wife told me she heard
the neighbors having sex last night while I slept. It was soothing,
I imagine. 2) When my bicycle was stolen on Broadway I was left with one wheel’s spinning
music. How the bloodrush of night evaporated from me. 3) The speed
of X cannot be measured without Y. Expect heavy impact. 4) Don’t pour me a drink unless
you’ve told me the price. Regardless, I’ll let it slide down my throat and pay for it. 5) What if
we all asked more from each other? Like I’m asking you now? What would be
given? 6) There are many forms of energy: mechanical, electrical, chemical. I can feel them
all. 7) Flames cause burning, but also suggest romance. It’s complicated. 8) Sometimes there is
no explanation for the behavior of sounds. I listen, openly.
Alan Chazaro is a high school teacher at the Oakland School for the Arts, a Lawrence Ferlinghetti Fellow at the University of San Francisco, and a June Jordan Poetry for the People alum at UC Berkeley. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in various journals including BOAAT, Frontier, Huizache, Borderlands, Juked, and Iron Horse Review. He is most proud about his sneaker collection, his recent Pushcart Prize nominations, and being selected by 2017 Pulitzer Prize winner, Tyehimba Jess, for an AWP Intro Journals Award.
Alan Chazaro
