Here’s a put-down poem by one of my favorites, Catullus, one of a group of young Roman poets who revolutionized poetry in the 1st century BCE: XLII Come, Hendecasyllables, come one and all, From everywhere, as many as you may be, For an ugly, skanky slut thinks I’m a joke…
A Prayer to Aphrodite On your dappled throne, Aphrodite—deathless, Ruse-devising daughter of Zeus: O Lady Never crush my spirit with pain and needless Sorrow, I beg you. Rather come—if ever some moment, years past, Hearing from afar my despairing voice, you Listened, left your father’s great golden halls, and Came…
The Fall of Bagdad[1] Don Pedro wakes this autumn day, Descends the stairs to his bar, And wiping down the rough-hewn wood, Prepares to pour the drinks. For years his cantina thrived on gold That cotton transport culled From slaves that Texas cruelly worked Throughout the Civil War. In fact,…
Silence Silence creeps like a thick, white fog To fill her ears and her mind with naught. In the stillness of the blackest night, It amplifies her every fright. Silence— She hates the silence: She wants to fill that void with a joyous sound. The skittering sounds that silence makes…
After writing my first science fiction novel, The Blue-Spangled Blue, I began to get ideas for a sort of literary soundtrack, music that would dramatize certain scenes or embody characters. By 2012, I had produced 15 instrumental pieces. You can listen to them by clicking on the track titles below,…
“There’s a dead body by the canal.” I glanced up at my brother Fernando. A couple of hours ago I had let him go across the breezeway to Speedy Espericueta’s apartment, just to get him out of my hair. It was Friday, but there was no school, so I was…
Philosophical Zombie (2008) was my sophomore effort. More lyrical and introspective than This Insubstantial Pageant, this album features more traditional vocal work and instrumentation. You can listen to the songs by clicking on the track name below, or download the entire album free as a zipped folder. PZ 1-Silence PZ…
Huckleberry Juju Huckleberry juju. Magnolia fire. Bayou flatboat. Palmetto moon. Black snake napping Up in a mossy oak. Hound in the swamp. Cottonmouth rainstorm. Sweetgrass baskets. Catching sense. Brotherhood mended Through taking of hands. Gospel elevation At backwoods church. Gullah conversation With the hoodoo man. Sip some sun-brewed tea, Barbequed…
My first album, a very experimental and eclectic mix of electronic music from various subgenres, everything from 80s dance to alternative to modern techno. The project sort of grew organically out of my attempts to emulate two of my favorite bands: Cocteau Twins and Underworld. You can listen to songs…
Two Skies, Two Swords, Five Spheres is a series of nine instrumental pieces inspired by Miyamoto Musashi, arguably the greatest swordsman in Japanese history. You can listen to the tracks by clicking on either the titles below or the play button for each, or you can download a zipped folder containing…
