Bolivia IV: response

Evo Morales says:
Tomorrow we build
from the shattered totem
we rebuild the fields
where children will play
Brother Ché, el gringo
was driven from La Paz
and now yellow potatoes
purple papas & llama meat
feed us all
The earth greets us
the rivers rejoice
the mountains clap their hands

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This is a response poem to one of the poems L.C. wrote while she was on a mission trip in Bolivia. You may read L.C.'s poem here; look for "Bolivia Poems, IV".

Purists may think we're cheating at the "Postcard Poem" game, but it was just too impractical to actually mail the cards — L.C. would be home before I received the cards, if we had; and she may never have received the cards I sent (if I literally sent them to Bolivia). Some of the cards we wrote "blind" do seem to comment on each other, but we agreed to write new responses to be included in a chapbook.

Just to ponder the process for a moment: like my earlier "response" poem, I've nabbed snippet phrases from L.C.'s poem, rearranged them, and then gave them a new meaning. This is similar to a technique Ruark L. has used with my work posted at the Poetry Espresso e-list. In this case, the new meaning comments on current affairs.

Ché may be a frequent visitor to my poems — he appears here because of the mention in the linked article about Evo Morales. Many probably already know Ché Guevera died in Bolivia, so I'm charmed by the idea of his ghost hovering over this series of poems.

We plan to have the chapbook available for L.C.'s premiere art show, on Nov. 23rd. The format of the book will owe much to the books Cassie Lewis has produced.

Write now to pre-order copies of this limited edition chapbook. Depending on production costs, I expect the selling price to be between $3-$5.