Full Description
"The poems in this collection began as a search for a history of my ancestors in a small, isolated valley in northern New Mexico. But no one wrote it down, and I was left to construct a poetic history where there were no written records . . ."
Leo Romero stands as a foundational figure in Latino letters. With six books of poetry and a book of short fiction to his name, Romero's contribution to the literary canon is profound and enduring. Bringing together for the first time his new and selected poems, Trees Dream of Water reflects Romero's journey from youth to maturity as a person and a poet, and his deep connection to New Mexico and its culture. Traversed by memory, myth, and observation of the natural world, these poems explore family, community belonging and conflict, life as an artist, and the cycles of life and death. This lyrical anthology includes accompanying essays to illuminate Romero's life and work for longtime admirers and new readers alike.
Contents
Foreword by Joy Harjo
Introduction by Rigoberto GonzÁlez
DURING THE GROWING SEASON (1978)
I Hear the Mare Neigh
If There Was Moonlight
No Stars No Stars
You Listen to the Chickens
Not of the Soil
Red Dress
Way of the Falling Rain
ChacÓn and Rain
Comanchito Lullaby
What Trees Dream About
Past Placitas
There's the House
We Slept on the Porch
The Road to Waldo
As Celso Tells It
Mentiras
Yaqui Indian Blood
Her Name Is Morning
Letter to Erlinda
Hitchhiking
Green Something or Other in Kansas
If We Got Married
AGUA NEGRA (1981) In the RincÓn
Benediction
Tree
The Goat's Cry
Estafiate
Too Many Years
Agua Negra
A Shadow Which Could Be Anything
The Silent Bell
The Trees on the Hillside
Augustina
Weaving the Rain
A Lying Moon and a Lonely Bird
This Dark Winter
Leaving Vegas
There Is the Wind
My Mother Listens
One Day Before Christmas
Before We Had an Icebox
Artificial Flowers
CELSO (1980) (1985) Celso Was Born
Celso's Father
The Moon and Angels
Ash Wednesday
Holy Water
The Miracle
A Thousand Angels
Angel Hair
Estrellita's Lips
Una CanciÓn de Flores
Triste, Triste Son
The Dead Are Dancing
A Dying Flower for His Heart
This Bitterness
The Sorrowful Madonna
Because the Moon Is a Woman
Job Visits Celso
Celso's Dream
Celso Talking to the Moon
One Night as Celso
Santiago, Since I Turned Sixty
There Was a Time
GOING HOME AWAY INDIAN (1990)
Going Home Away
He Was Dancing the Yellow Dance
He Didn't Like Me
It Was in 1856
In His Dreams
Skeleton Indian
Marilyn Monroe Indian
Skeleton Indian, He's the Talk
I Ever See You
Yellow Blouse Woman
Skeleton Indian Thinks
Skeleton Indian Was a Navajo
Here Comes Skeleton
There's Nothing Worse
Head Blown Off
That's John Colley
He Was Approached
Who Was He
Welcome, Says Skeleton
Raymundo
Raymundo, Say You Love Me
Note from the Author
SAN FERNANDEZ BEAT (1992)
Ginsberg's on the Phone Again
Next Time I Come to Visit
Mr. Martinez Is Quite a Character
"How Do You Do It?" I Ask
Mr. Martinez Always Has
Alfred's on the Phone Again
Contents ix Alfred, If I Don't Find Him
I Drop In on Alfred
As Poets Get Older They
I'm Invited
I Keep Wondering When Fulgenzi
Alfred's Getting Famous
Dream of Old Peruvian Days
I Wake Up 000 Alfred's Turned Artist, Not
Note from the Author
BEYOND NAGEEZI
1.
I Have Come a Long Way
Datura
I Wander in the Desert
I Hesitate Before a Severed
Each Second Lengthens the Distance
The Cactus Have Taken Steps
I Walk Out into the Desert
Flowers Blooming
I Moved to the Desert
She Picked the Cactus
2.
Between Yeso and Fort Sumner
Clovis
End of the Columbus Day Weekend
For Miles There Is Nothing
Slower Than Anything
What Was There to Do on the Plains
Tonight the Moon Is Lost
We Looked Under the Sofa Cushions
You Loved to Dance
Waltzing
3.
At Night These
There Is an Ancient Belief
I Climbed a High Hill
I Stepped Outside
Walking Down
Spiders Scurry
A Few Heavy Raindrops
4.
In the Late Afternoon
I Opened My Window
Clouds Are Moving
The Wind Is Knocking
Winter Has Arrived
After the Sun Sets
I Follow Dark Winter Birds
Scraping Off the Ice
Moon and River
5.
Drawing Up the Blinds
Yesterday As I Drove Past
Seeing You from a Distance
When You Were Living
Walking Through the Forest
Returning to Los Alamos
The Night Pulsates
6.
Another Cold Night
Was It Fall 000 You're in the Yard
7.
Chaco Canyon
The Mountains Call Me
I Skirt the Bisti
There Is No Sound Here
Silence Exists Here
Beyond Nageezi
For Lame Deer (Sioux Medicine Man)
A Remembered Dream: Thoughts on Becoming a Writer
Acknowledgments
