Day of the Dead

Chevalterre Nabil (Karla)
Reading with Rincon Bohemio...








the poem performed by Chevalterre Nabil is titled "Prayer to Lord Yama"
I truly hope that anyone reading gets a better understanding of the Holiday known as Dia de los Muertos.

RED ... parts I & II

complete piece written in July of 2005

by KLRabstracts before Chevalterre Nabil

-----

---

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Red it bleeds

Red it drips

**

I wipe away at my nose

with my fingertips

**

The concrete

as I knelt

**

strangely, no cut

I felt

**

As I rose

to stand erect

**

That bright red

was quite direct

**

A child I was

sad and sobbing

**

The hot red

pressure throbbing

**

Chasing a boy

while riding a bike

**

Falling to my knee

the red did like

**

Through tiny pores

like little ants

**

Yellow they turned

infected under my pants

**

The stinging stain

embarrassed me

**

In summer school,

figured out its chemistry

**

The red

during puberty

**

Did not infect

my purity.

**

*<..._____-----...<*>...-----_____...>*

**

True heartache,

open wounds

**

Empty flesh hollows

Red-covered tombs

**

In shock I was

the period seized

**

The red not coming

I was not pleased

**

Heart and knuckles

in red are tarred

**

Forever

they are scarred

**

On the job

grey dust turns red

**

Through my respirator,

dizziness in my head

**

I pray at church

they serve me red

**

I eat my dumplings

they serve me red

**

I can breathe

but red comes out

**

Plasma, blood clots

I curse and shout

**

My paranoia

lurks and hides

**

For thirty days

red spills from all sides

**

Deep breathing

Deep meditation

**

Controlling the bleeding

no slack or hesitation

**

The red flows

as it is meant to be

**

Distastefully,

it is a curse to me

**

the Red

inside me boils

**

All the clothing

it soils

**

I cannot continue

eve or day

**

Without some red

spilling away

**

I fear

when in private

**

If you see it

I want to hide it

**

You ask me why

I fear the Red

**

It is a danger

inside my head

**

Like a trigger

for a bull

**

Red restrains me

into a lull.

**

Unsettled Heart

by KLR before Chevalterre Nabil

28 June 2005

**

I don't know what to say

I don't know what to do

I feel like a mess

I feel like a fool

*

So many men with whom I'd lay

So many men that I would do

An easy way of relieving stress

That sleasy joy filling my pool

*

If only it were yesterday

When i still had you

Before I met sex

Our dreams we'd thread into a spool

*

We said we would stay

You said you'd write too

Our paths became so complex

My anxiety and impatience began to rule

*

I'm not yet old nor grey

Longer than a decade, since I saw you

The spool has not unraveled

I long to be in your arms

*

We've headed towards each other's way

Holding me, you missed me too

But our hearts have been graveled

And useless are my charms

*

Please don't let me become astray

I only want to be with you

All these men, they have me mangled

The curse on me must be lifted

*

Send me a sign for me to stay

Do not let me say "adieu"

This anxiety and impatience get me strangled

I'm reaching out for help, to be lifted.

*

Military Drug

by Karla/KLRabstracts before Chevalterre Nabil

20 June 2005

*previous publication on Virgogray Press' "Valium" Anthology

and June 2009 issue of Fever News - El Paso, TX' first gay magazine/newspaper.

14

JOINED THE ROTTEN OL' TIN CANS

a. k. a. R. O. T. C.

drills & drills 7 the comaraderie.

I love it

Do I get enough of it?

I'm failing Pre-Cal & Chemistry

So's I quit & keep the chloroforms.

19 1/2

RECRUITED MYSELF INTO THE NAVY

they call me a squid

a shellback I'll become

I love it

Goin' from green to blue

I'm losin' weight, keepin' in shape

2 to 3 hours a day to skip the lunch plate.

19 3/4

GET FLOWN TO THE GREAT MISTAKES

a.k.a. Illinois' Great Lakes

cold & windy

I love it

El Paso my home? What's that?

Service week in the galley washin' dishes & racks

A L. A. chola didn't watch my back

So's I broke my back. Can I make it?

almost 20

GOIN' ACROSS THE STREET TO N.T.C.

finally graduated B.T.C.

I'm completely lost

I love it!

So's I make out by the lake

& freestyle dance with a date.

20

EARNED A 2-WEEK BREAT & VISIT THE FAMILY

they told me they were improving?

I hate it!

they just keep on fighting

So's I party

'till my next duty station

still @ 20

FLOWN TO JAPAN, LAND OF MACROSS & SAILORMOON

nothing but colorful manga & anime

I love it!

because I can drink

KAMPAI!

So's I learned in Yokosuka

there's no concept of zero.

21

I'VE BEEN TO RUSSIA, CHINA, KOREA,

Singapore, Bali, Guam, Australia

I love it!

can't get enough of it, love.

So's I shop & drink & dance my liberty away

bust my arse 'till I hurt my back again.

22

I'M NOT THIN ANYMORE

the pounds I've gained -- galore!

I've been pushin' the Xenedrine!

gettin' my Anthrax & Percocet!

So's I shake in my sleep

Motrin's tasteless candy &

Black gum has Nicotine?

I used to not smoke!

22 1/2

SURVIVED SEEIN' WRITE & JOHNSON'S

live amputation...

because of 2, 4, 6, 8 -

thousand mistakes

We don't appreciate.

So's I shake in my sleep & dream of healing

I loved those guys

& hate that they're gone.

23

ONCE A MONTH, LEARNIN' TO DANCE SEXY SALSA

sleepin' with nice rich European men

I love it

get too much of it

So's I wanna find love

in the land of the crimson sun.

24

MY EX-BOYFRIENDS WANT ME BACK

I feel so outta wack!

I loath it!

Cannot stand it! ...

They can't love me...

So's I get peshed off my wankin' knickers...

So's I go ride horses cause they're

such good kickers -- Wooh!

24 3/4

SINKIN' LIKE ARSE

have no privacy? no liberty!

Everyone wants a piece of me...

I HATE IT

GONNA LOSE IT!

So's I stop:

... I forgot to jump overboard

I have 3 months left...

there is life after death.

25

BEEN BACK HOME

"Hell Paso" they call it.

I love it.

I missed it

So's I get some jobs

pay the bills.

26

WORKIN' FOR THE MINIMUM

these easy skate jobs & teenagers

call 'em careers?!

I'm bored

needing a challenge

So's I sign up for the Guard -- HOOAH!

26 1/2

LOSIN' WEIGHT, KEEPIN' IN SHAPE

It's too damn easy!

... but wait!!

I just turned 27

I'm in Kentucky's Ft. Knox

can't even go to the 7-11

I could run in El Paso

My body's in shock

I feel like a fatso

Recruiters & MEPS deprived me of training

I am in numbing pain

Pills & drugs come pouring down like raining

Lord Almighty

what have I done?

A WAR inside me

has begun!

Green to Blue

Blue to Green

there are some differences

I have seen.

Only one thing

just won't change:

That "Military Drug"

YOU LOVE IT

YOU WANT IT?

I won't be a hypocrite

tell you to not join

this is only

a fraction of my story

So's all I can say is,

"Getcha Some!"