j.lewis
j.lewis is an internationally published poet, musician, psych nurse practitioner, and the editor of Verse-Virtual, an online journal and community. When he is not otherwise occupied, he is often on a kayak, exploring and photographing the waterways near his home in California. He is the author of five full length collections, plus eight chapbooks. Learn more at https://www.jlewisweb.com/books.asp. j.lewis recommends RAICES.
resident mantis, thin and green
rises at the first drops of water
i greet him and ask how his day is going
tell him of my pain for the newest war
she half-listens to me telling
how the numbers here and there
are rising, always rising
and i can see that she's
tuned me out, tuned out the math
or "aryan", or "norwegian". the ideal
of blond hair, blue eyes as wrapper
for a superior type of person
you know, the stable genius sort
by right a rite of passage
should be entered into
by one who has prepared
who understands the gravity
commitment and opportunity
