Rodgrigo Toscano
Winter 2023 | Poetry
Capitán Peachy
Inside a fort of stone
of his own making
a pentagrammic imposition
on a bluff of an island
pacing atop its walls
peering from turrets
with searing concentration
on the restless sea
on the lookout
for the enemy—
he orders a blackberry tea
sits among the chattery
and renders the battle of the flags
on the burning plaza
of his own fancy
brusquely yet colorfully.
After the morning smoke
has dissipated
after the monumentality
baroque tinseled imagery
he pops a tweet
on Anglo Imperium’s decay
how its poetry
fleets of piracy
itching for a toehold
here and everywhere
with its atomistic
cosmovision
“is demoralizing
day after day
is authoritative
year upon year”
He then deletes that tweet
in a moment of reflection
a feeling of equanimity
ecumenicalism even
Then bristles at that retreat!
while struggling for a synonym
for “bristle”
for an hour—
Other than that—
everything’s peachy
Rodrigo Toscano is a poet and dialogist based in New Orleans. He is the author of eleven books of poetry. His latest two books are The Cut (Counterpath, 2023), The Charm & The Dread (Fence, 2022). His Collapsible Poetics Theater was a National Poetry Series selection) His poetry has appeared in over 20 anthologies, including Best American Poetry (2004, 2023) and Best American Experimental Poetry (BAX). Toscano received a New York State Fellowship in Poetry. He won the Edwin Markham 2019 prize for poetry. rodrigotoscano.com @Toscano200
Rodrigo recommends Vexations (Annelyse Gelman), Damage, poems 1988-2022 (Mark Scroggins), Mud, Blood, and Ghosts: Populism, Eugenics, and Spiritualism in the American West (Julie Carr).