LatinosUSA

Jr Crivello: Do I think poetry is back in fashion?

Francisco Bravo Cabrera: Absolutely! I don’t think it ever went out of fashion. I recall poetry circles and readings as far back as when I was in High School. Perhaps classical poetry styles might have been left, but newer ones, the ones that reflected the spirit of the times, came into vogue. I mean, poetry like rap and other slam type works are phenomenal and they are so useful to express the poetry that is in our brains, because I am quite convinced that we think in poetic terms without even realising it.

Jr Crivello: Do I create poetry daily or wait for inspiration?

Francisco Bravo Cabrera: I do not believe in inspiration. An artist creates because it is his job and a job cannot depend on something so unreliable as inspiration. I think poets made that up to make people believe that they were somehow mystical or otherworldly. I believe in hard work to create talent and to achieve greater and greater perfection in poetry as well as in anything else, be it artistic or not. I write daily as I paint daily as I approach music daily. It is a job and one that you cannot call in sick to. Sick or well, you compose, paint or write.

Jr Crivello:  What is my next publishing project?

Francisco Bravo Cabrera: Well, indeed it is my book. Actually there are three books in the works. One is a poetry book with line drawing illustrations, of mine own creation; a crime/detective novel with spiritual overtones, and a non-fiction account of the situation that overtook Cuba starting in 1959 with the triumph of the communists that have, since then, destroyed the island nation. The book deals with the Operación Pedro Pan, which procured the exodus of 14.000 minors from Cuba that were transported safely to freedom in Miami from 1960-1962, by a Cuban patriot in Havana, who served over 20 years in  Castro’s dungeons for his participation, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami on the other end.

Jr Crivello:  What city I live in and which is my favourite bar?

Francisco Bravo Cabrera: I live in the city of Valencia in the Comunitat Valenciana, España. As this is a Mediterranean city, we love to be outdoors and our bars are mostly terrazas (outside terraces). I love my corner bar. That is where I meet my friends for breakfast, for our traditional esmorzaret (little lunch) and for beer, wine, or gin tonics at tea-time in the early afternoon, say at 1700 hours. We cannot do without our neighbourhood bars, it is a part of our tradition since we have been coming since we were wee lads, and also of our love of companionship and camaraderie.

Francisco Bravo Cabrera (also known as Bodo Vespaciano)

I am a poet that paints and composes music that graduated from Florida International University with a degree in Theatre Arts and a strong minor in Psychology. As a painter I have exhibited in North America, Europe and Asia since 2003. As a poet I have been published in Spillwords Press and my poems have been selected as Publication of the year (international) fir 2023 and 2024. I am a pushcart nominee (2024) and an editor for LatinosUSA (English and Spanish Edition)

A FEW TIMES IN YOUR LIFE 

I’ve been on the other side of a weapon like this,
the one in your head,
the one in your hand,
the one in your bed,
the one you can’t…anymore…understand.

A few times in my life I’ve found myself like this…
And I have been a ghost and you’ll only see,
a few times in your life…

I’ve been on the other side before,
of you,
of her,
of them,
of the reflection in the mirror,
I’m a face seen darkly, distorted, shattered?

A few times I have been in two places at the same time…
And I have been the breeze that moved your golden hair,
And you have noticed it a few times in your life…

I am the other side of a weapon like this,
the one that you dread,
the one you can’t find,
the one where I’m dead,
the one without time…

I am the ghost that you’ll forget,
like the goldfish you never fed.
But I know, as I know noontime reaches the depths of the night,
 you will think of me
a few times in your life…

C.2025, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 11/04/2021-11/05/2025, Valencia, Spain

YOU CAN FIND ME AT:

VALENCIARTIST Blog on Art, Music and Poetry: https://www.paintinginvalencia.com
YouTube Channel:   http://www.YouTube.com/@FranciscoBravoCabrera
Instagram: @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera