Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Watching logs ignite flaring, listen for the charred rhymes

Three poems by Adrian Ernesto Cepeda

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda and cat
Adrian Ernesto Cepeda and cat

On the Balcony of The Signature

  • “I like her; I could watch her the rest of my life.”
  • — Philip K. Dick
  • As my best man handed me
  • a bubbly drink we toasted
  • clinking clear glasses of Cristal,
  • during our Vegas wedding
  • reception the way he pointed
  • to my love in white as she gathered
  • cheek kissing bridesmaids with giggles
  • while hugging my distant Colombian
  • relatives—at that moment, through
  • the brightening breeze, I whispered
  • aloud: we’re married—The Signature
  • balcony had awakened me
  • as I realized at that moment,
  • glimpsing her within new light—
  • for the first time, this same
  • stunning beauty glowing
  • before me, I now call her—
  • my wife.

She Has Cameras in Her Eyes

  • From a 2016 photograph of Natalie Alvarado by Nikki Lopez
  • Focusing of lenses
  • between each
  • and every blink,
  • while glowing
  • paused reflections
  • I love the way
  • she sinks back inside
  • with each shutter
  • musing blushes
  • as she thinks—
  • sometimes I wait
  • for her to connect
  • back with words
  • but all I hear is her
  • flashing sigh, lips bitten
  • and Polaroid smile half
  • crooked, developing slowly
  • while blinking, she shares
  • softly drifting focusing giggles
  • within a moment exposing
  • her blushing hesitation.

There’s Nothing Like Gazing into A Campfire

  • Watching logs ignite flaring
  • listen for the charred rhymes
  • in between the flames
  • the fire pits epic poetry
  • the wood refrains, hear
  • them yearn; as the smoke
  • rises skyward who needs a lightbulb
  • your mind crackles introspection
  • ideas glowing in the nocturne.
  • There’s nothing like watching
  • the most personal motion picture,
  • toasting without words. Your eyes
  • mesmerized as the sparks become
  • the most sizzling revelations
  • there are no explosions, under stars;
  • yet there are poems sizzling quietly,
  • you can hear them stir, in between
  • the hypnotic interludes, where
  • nothing ever happens—
  • and everything always burns.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda is an L.A. Poet who is a recent graduate of the MFA program at Antioch University in Los Angeles where he lives with his wife and their cat Woody Gold. His poetry has been featured in The Yellow Chair Review, Thick With Conviction, Silver Birch Press, and one of his poems was named the winner of Subterranean Blue Poetry’s 2016 “The Children of Orpheus” Anthology/Contest. You can connect with Adrian on his website.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm
Adrian Ernesto Cepeda and cat
Adrian Ernesto Cepeda and cat

On the Balcony of The Signature

  • “I like her; I could watch her the rest of my life.”
  • — Philip K. Dick
  • As my best man handed me
  • a bubbly drink we toasted
  • clinking clear glasses of Cristal,
  • during our Vegas wedding
  • reception the way he pointed
  • to my love in white as she gathered
  • cheek kissing bridesmaids with giggles
  • while hugging my distant Colombian
  • relatives—at that moment, through
  • the brightening breeze, I whispered
  • aloud: we’re married—The Signature
  • balcony had awakened me
  • as I realized at that moment,
  • glimpsing her within new light—
  • for the first time, this same
  • stunning beauty glowing
  • before me, I now call her—
  • my wife.

She Has Cameras in Her Eyes

  • From a 2016 photograph of Natalie Alvarado by Nikki Lopez
  • Focusing of lenses
  • between each
  • and every blink,
  • while glowing
  • paused reflections
  • I love the way
  • she sinks back inside
  • with each shutter
  • musing blushes
  • as she thinks—
  • sometimes I wait
  • for her to connect
  • back with words
  • but all I hear is her
  • flashing sigh, lips bitten
  • and Polaroid smile half
  • crooked, developing slowly
  • while blinking, she shares
  • softly drifting focusing giggles
  • within a moment exposing
  • her blushing hesitation.

There’s Nothing Like Gazing into A Campfire

  • Watching logs ignite flaring
  • listen for the charred rhymes
  • in between the flames
  • the fire pits epic poetry
  • the wood refrains, hear
  • them yearn; as the smoke
  • rises skyward who needs a lightbulb
  • your mind crackles introspection
  • ideas glowing in the nocturne.
  • There’s nothing like watching
  • the most personal motion picture,
  • toasting without words. Your eyes
  • mesmerized as the sparks become
  • the most sizzling revelations
  • there are no explosions, under stars;
  • yet there are poems sizzling quietly,
  • you can hear them stir, in between
  • the hypnotic interludes, where
  • nothing ever happens—
  • and everything always burns.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda is an L.A. Poet who is a recent graduate of the MFA program at Antioch University in Los Angeles where he lives with his wife and their cat Woody Gold. His poetry has been featured in The Yellow Chair Review, Thick With Conviction, Silver Birch Press, and one of his poems was named the winner of Subterranean Blue Poetry’s 2016 “The Children of Orpheus” Anthology/Contest. You can connect with Adrian on his website.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Time’s up for Doubletime Recording Studio

Owner Jeff Forrest is trading El Cajon for Portugal
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader