Another dazzling gold fork in the road.
Another torrent of freezing black rain.
To the left, a hawk; to the right, a crow.
Who’s hungry for maidens and warriors?
Creaking voice from a cavern, just yonder:
“Can’t do teenage politics anymore”
Gargoyles whistling Wagner in willow groves.
Decades from now, Turkey will be like, huh?
Euro trader pumps the ruble. “Farceur!”
Refresh ‘Nation State’, close out ‘Global Talk’.
Trunk snap tumble. Crows dispersing. Macron!
Drone sees NATO tactical butt bouncing.
Leopard tank. Leopard tie. Leopard garter.
Torn pages from slain doctrines in the fog.
Crisp image of a tumbling satellite
Brought to you by satellite Gronk 15
Over Mobile, hurtling towards Marrakesh
The hand off hovering over Houston
Another boxy spiky blinky bot
Racing towards Savannah, on to Lisbon
Gronk 6 (9 years old, expires at 10)
Recovers signal with ample buffer
Reconstitutes the stuff you’re looking for
Perhaps this image, itself a hand off
Something to hold tight, a little longer
And a little bit longer after that
Till neurons deliberate other paths
The Gronks, conducting the neuron shuffle.
Rodrigo Toscano is a poet based in New Orleans. He is the author of twelve books of poetry. His latest books are WHITMAN. CANNONBALL. PUEBLA (Omnidawn, 2025, National Poetry Series finalist, NYPL best books of 2025). The Cut Point (Counterpath, 2023), The Charm & The Dread (Fence, 2022). Forthcoming is Salvage Nation: 100 Sonnets (Winter Editions, fall 2026). His Collapsible Poetics Theater was a 2008 National Poetry Series winner. His poetry has appeared in over 25 anthologies, including, Best American Poetry and Best American Experimental Poetry. Toscano received a New York State Fellowship in Poetry. He won the Edwin Markham 2019 prize for poetry. He works for the Labor Institute in conjunction with the United Steelworkers. He has been on the board of the New Orleans Poetry Festival since 2016. rodrigotoscano.com
