In this episode, host, Aaron Tyler Hand is joined by the amazing poet and author of a brand new memoir, Tomás Q. Morín. They discuss the differences in writing poet and nonfiction, with close examination on how each can help a writer find personal growth in their own unique ways. (NOTE: We apologize for any disruptive background noise, we did our best to edit it out).
Tomás Q. Morín
Retaining your humanity is so hard to do when the system is set up to take it from you.
Poems:
Untitled
welcome to my room
where the conversation
is mad rich
sometimes too intense
just from our words
our bodies be gasping
tingling off the incense
oh mixed with the wine
called Aladdin’s Compassion
Jasmine’s
the last of the ratchets
I take the time to tease your body
as if I found me a bad riff
you’re God’s gift
to me especially
beautiful with a complexion
that say come and devour me
for hours
we spend talking on the phone
oh the sweet and sour, oh please
fly a kite with me
away in the open seas
the only thing that i see
is me
when you’re staring back
and I speak
boom boom baby
Aaliyah
3 years you been in my life
Your mother is my beautiful wife
1 year I spent it in jail
Writing and drawing so I can get mail
I sit in my bunk and daydream of DisneyLand
A place that we can run and play
Especially on a day like your birthday
Because birthdays only come once a year
Some bring joy long with the occasional happy tear
A time together that has been well spent
Wishing and dreaming of this joyous event
Until then my sweet daughter all my love has been sent
I Remember
I remember the walks on the beach
As we talk on your island
Ancient salty air breathing through your hair
I remember the moon glimmering on your nose
As we walk out of the theater
Where i massaged your feet
Watching a movie, savoring your body heat
I remember when we thought our backs would break
Carrying boxes up the stairs to our new apartment
College freshman newly wed
To a marriage that now is dead
I remember sitting on couches facing across
Your eyes dried from old tears
Finished with the lies
As we said our goodbyes
I remember
Aztec Skin
Light brown w/ Aztec blood, mix with Mestizo love
Full of mexican pride
With tattoos going up and down
And side to side
A smile that attracts people
From all around
As I walk with my head up high
On this cherished ground
Scared in my head, never forget
them memories
Like my ancestors who fought battles
w/ their bitter enemies
Faces
Faces haunt me
I sleep in a wake of insomnia
They stab at me and haunt me
My childhood taken
And exploited to mold
The deep life I’ve tried
To truly live
And find my soul
Around the world
I’ve been
Now in my hands I hold
What’s left of a heart
And a life I loath
Though I do not know the meaning
I continue to try at love
My kids I provide for
Stranded from the man above
Without life, without love
I’d be nothing but dust
But my faith remains
In a man called God
That’s a must
Writing Prompts:
In For My Daughter, Tomás writes about an imagined situation where he gets to meet the child that he was never able to have. In the poem, he creates a whole world where they are able to be together. Think of someone you wish you could spend some time with. Write a poem about what that moment would be like. Be specific about what you two would do or where you’d be.
Tomás Q. Morín opens himself up completely in Machete. He invites the reader to try and understand what it is like to walk around as a Hispanic person in a predominantly white country. Write a poem about what it is like for you to walk around in your skin. Make it clear so that someone who might not have the same experiences as you can gain a better understanding of you.