LatinosUSA

Poetry from Maiden Rock by Peter Mladinic

Snapper

Rain falls in needles in the river,
Thin as needles in a gun
in a tattoo parlor
forming on skin a snapper.

The snapper rears its head.
Black shell
of zigzag edges,
it crawls, leaves claw tracks
in blue-black silt of the riverbank.

The river curves. Trees on both sides,
the willow
across the water, a rain-gatherer.

From Pop Culture Elegy –Sal Mineo

His absence among the most notable
In American cinema: the community lined
the tracks, the flat open car pulls up
with the flag draped coffin of their Angel.
Every eye fixated on the big screen’s
earth meets sky horizon. West Texas,
Angel Obergón the solider who died for us
the poor, the rich is home, is no more.

© Peter Mladinic

Maiden Rock can be purchased on Uncollected Press: The Raw Art Review and Amazon in paperback format. Take time to enjoy the praise for Maiden Rock on Amazon.

Author Biography

Peter Mladinic was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1973 and earned an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas in 1985. Professor emeritus at New Mexico Junior College, where he was a member of the English faculty for 30 years. During that time, he was a board member of the Lea County Museum and president of the Lea County Humane Society. An animal rights advocate, he lives in Hobbs, New Mexico, USA.