Sergio A. Ortiz
Rebellious
Rancid perfume
flavored with names,
I hear from
near and far the vicars
who disbelieve in innocence.
Lotus eaters
of the symbol and the verb,
is it possible to live
with a fathomless abyss
on my back?
Let us drown
Ausonius's rose. Suffocation
will silence her.
Thus, we behold the invisible
mystique of a true rose.
Bio
Sergio A. Ortiz is the founding editor of Undertow Tanka Review. He is a two-time Pushcart nominee, a four-time Best of the Web nominee, and 2016 Best of the Net nominee. 2nd place in the 2016 Ramón Ataz Annual Poetry Competition sponsored by Alaire publishing house. He is currently working on his first full-length collection of poems, Elephant Graveyard.