the enveloping vamoose
there’s a particular bodysuit i wear
a specific suitcase i carry
made of exactly the same volume
every day — at every moment of the sun
i know where i will take my coffee
where i will satisfy the money maker — my ability
for sameness — in the gorge of my spit
is necessary right now
to allow the volcano its speech
my molten conundrum for greatness — lies
in the sameness of everyday arousal
from the specific dare — to deem yourself
ready for stillness
among the world zooming by — yours is a lifeline
acknowledged by direction
your pause — by the speed you endure
the beauty you accumulate
the pile of destiny upon your fate
your order — placed on this line
before you were born
— is a charged supernova
in the unknown restraint — of your wildest now
in the enveloping vamoose
of a grander we
Edwin Torres is an OG (original griot) from the East Village, his books of poetry include Feel Recordings in the Evershift (forthcoming from Wave Books), Quanundrum: i will be your many angled thing (Roof Books, American Book Award winner), and editor of The Body In Language: An Anthology (Counterpath Press). Fellowships include NYSCA, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Arts MidHudson, among others. He lives in Beacon, NY and teaches poetry as an adjunct at Columbia University.