Rodrigo Toscano
Three Poems
The Hungry
Go with the myth as is. Don’t stir the pot.
Alright, stir that pot, add in some heroes
Say that the national subject is you
In all your you-ness, in all your guises
We got a good flow going here, don’t we?
The plot thickens! All y’all, are now “equals”
In this vaunted epic, against others
—China’s, Russia’s, Mexico’s, India’s
Try stirring those pots. Hot. Global. Gumbo.
Still feel like yourself? A bit less? Bit more?
The plot slackens. The A-lists are B-lists
The B-lists, C-lists, The C-lists, extras
You’re in there, for sure, doing something, right?
Ladling your pot’s contents to the hungry?
Another New Orleans Sonnet
Chronic, literally, everything, ok?
A trash bin stuffed with literary mags
A pensive girl at the end of the bar
A cat slinking under rickety stools
A notepad crammed with illegible scrawl
Chronic, runaway fancies, pulsing ache
Shocks of optimism, zings of numbness
One dumb ass metaphor puts it like this:
“The Spine of Society out of whack”
While the pensive girl slides out of the bar
As the slinky cat rambles out of sight
As the lonesome notepad sloshily roars
As the mags snuggle into their landfill
It’s chronic alright, the whole effin’ deal.
Europa
Another dazzling gold fork in the road.
Another torrent of freezing black rain.
To the left, a hawk; to the right, a crow.
Who’s hungry for maidens and warriors?
Creaking voice from a cavern, just yonder:
“Can’t do teenage politics anymore”
Gargoyles whistling Wagner in willow groves.
Decades from now, Turkey will be like, huh?
Euro trader pumps the ruble. “Farceur!”
Refresh “Nation State,” close out “Global Talk.”
Trunk snap tumble. Crows dispersing. Macron!
Drone sees NATO tactical butt bouncing.
Leopard tank. Leopard tie. Leopard garter.
Torn pages from slain doctrines in the fog.
Rodrigo Toscano is a poet based in New Orleans. He is the author of thirteen books of poetry. His latest books are WHITMAN. CANNONBALL. PUEBLA (Omnidawn, 2025, National Poetry Series finalist, NYPL best books of 2025). The Cut Point (Counterpath, 2023), The Charm & The Dread (Fence, 2022). Forthcoming is Salvage Nation: 100 Sonnets (Winter Editions, December 2026). His Collapsible Poetics Theater was a 2008 National Poetry Series selection. His poetry has appeared in over 25 anthologies, including, Best American Poetry and Best American Experimental Poetry. Toscano received a New York State Fellowship in Poetry. He won the Edwin Markham 2019 prize for poetry. He works for the Labor Institute in conjunction with the United Steelworkers. He has been on the board of the New Orleans Poetry Festival since 2015. rodrigotoscano.com