Poetry by Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal

       Stephen A. Wolfe CC




Wounded But Still Kicking 

Everything comes out wrong.

I am not like those poets that know everything. I say what I know and 
get out. I make things up if I need 
to. Who likes a know it all anyway?

Half this country believe 
in things I will never understand.
I do not believe what they believe.

I will stay in California
wounded but still kicking.
I will not feel better soon.
I can barely afford my rent.
Someone wants to send me back
where I came from.

They believe America is only
for those born here.
My poetry does not believe that.
This is home for people like me too.
I will die here one day.

I know geography and 
the greyhound bus brought me here.
Fuck those who think they rule all.
This country was made for you and me.
This country was made for you and me.
I partake of the bread on my table.
It was purchased with the bread I made.
I came too far to go back
where maps should not matter.





Curious About the Moon 

He was curious about the moon.
He believed it was worth a fortune.
He did not have enough money
to purchase even one rock or spec
of dust. It drove him to insanity.
He believed the moon was a lucky
charm. He lived his whole life without 
luck. He made a wager that would
change. He lost a lot. He lost all
the time. He was the best loser in
the whole world because that was
his fate. Everyday he stared at the 
moon and dreamt the impossible.
He would take possession of it
and make a business with its light
source. But it was a delusional 
ambition. The moon was not for sale
or should it ever be. He would gaze 
at it from an open window and jump 
toward it. The ground was unforgiving 
as he let out his last cry. When he was
laid to rest nobody came to pay their
respects. His death was for nothing.
His ashes were kept in a cheap urn
where they would never bet again.
There would be no dreaming about
the moon or hopes about owning it.​





Luis was born in Mexico, lives in California, and work in the mental health field in Los Angeles. His poetry has appeared in Blue Collar Review, Escape Into Life, Kendra Steiner Editions, and Mad Swirl. His artwork has appeared in Black Petals, Medusa’s Kitchen Impspired, and Yellow Mama Webzine.
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