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Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian

Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian
Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

"Atta," Angelo Luna's Birthday Poem for his Father


 Angelo & Christopher Luna, Father's Day 2020

Atta

by Angelo Luna


Not a beat poet

but loves the beat, certainly

Smooth jazz

rapid rhythms

the claws that sink in 

when an Invader 

grabs you by the short and curlies 

and tells you to 

fucking 

Dance


Not a a beat poet, no

but described by Ginsberg 

decades before his existence nonetheless

First thought, best thought

Uninhibited

Uncontrolled

a radioactive substance in writing


Internal Radiation Therapy

words healing the country 

from the inside out


While the world burns in 

Trump’s America

Bolsonaro’s Brazil

God’s Earth

he writes his truth, and fights fire 

by sucking the oxygen out of the room

A man who’s quantifiable praise for his ancestors 

quiets crowds 

when it’s spoken out loud


No more fire


There aren’t enough of him


Not quite zen

but buddhist in soul and practice

Does what’s being said need to be said? 

Why are you saying it? 

Does it help anyone? 

They may be mantras to some

but it’s better thought of as a scientific method

dissect every interaction

future and past

and see which parts were necessary


Make yourself the best you can be


I write inhibited

Clinical

still coming into my own and learning from my betters


He teaches as a delimiter

not a time bomb


Not a beat poet, definitively, 

but heavily influenced

and proud of it. 

Surrealist

Grounded

visionary works 

clutter file cabinets, real and digital. 


Ginsberg watches him from another life

passing by on the street every chance he gets

without knowing it

I like to think that if reincarnation is 

the way things go 

that good ol’ Allen 

is younger than my father

Maybe he’s a student

a fellow teacher

a preteen he makes a collage for.

Maybe he’s me, though I doubt it

I have other elders to follow


Stoic principles prepare us for loss

and I’ll spend my time in study preparing for his, most


Regardless of the sum of my works

or the product of his

I don’t know what real life will do when he’s gone. 

A crack in an invisible wall

that only suffers when a truly great person leaves


There’s only so many it can take

I often wonder if his 

will be the last


He betters himself

works with his son to live longer

even though it hurts 

and sometimes isn’t as entertaining as others


He doesn’t want to see that wall crack either

he wants to surpass legacies

become one of those elders


No, that’s incorrect. Forgive my candidness, 

but that’s what 

Want

He would be happy leaving a mark on a closed

small circle

I want to see his name in essays 

50 years from now


Either way

I’ll be proud. 

He deserves it.



    Allen Ginsberg and Christopher Luna in 1994 


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Incredible tribute and rather excellent poem in his father's footsteps. I am moved. Wow!
Susan Rankin

Toni said...

I am honored to observe the natural exchange of love and laughter between Father and Son. Their conversations are amazing, their respect for each other is a gift to behold, and their love is a deep and unconditional bond. Two truly amazing men, each humble about their talents, each generous in spirit. They are truly a gift to each other and I am a lucky witness to their grand adventures! Toni Lumbrazo Luna

Luna Bear said...

I love THIS:

"He teaches as a delimiter
not a time bomb"

Jae