The Broken Places
Daniel Romo is the author of Apologies in Reverse (FutureCycle Press 2019), When Kerosene’s Involved (Mojave River Press, 2014), and Romancing Gravity (Silver Birch Press, 2013). His poetry can be found in The Los Angeles Review, PANK, Barrelhouse, and elsewhere. He has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte, and he is an Associate Poetry Editor at Backbone Press. He lives and teaches in Long Beach, CA. More at danielromo.net.
Visiting familiar terrain can be both a painful
remainder and reminder. But what’s left and what’s next are neither synonymous
nor negotiable. Although not the choicest of destinations, returning to where
it all began delivers a vital stamp to any passport intent on producing personal
growth and beloved, public Instagram photos. Labeling any parcel of land gives
the distinct feeling of overcoming or overcompensating, but memory can’t ever
escape an umbrella term denoting rubble and hurt. Gathering the fractured
pieces is the most popular activity at any pity party, while moving on comes in
at a close second. Filling in the cracks with small talk is as fitting a song
title as Tip-Toeing Through a Tornado; painful locations are never
initial topics of conversation. Never a, “Nice to meet ya’ wanna’ hear about my
childhood trauma?” before shaking a new hand. Facing your biggest fears often
means retracing many small steps and deaths. Putting yourself back together again
is a chance to plant Snapdragons in the chasms you thought too deep to ever
reach.
Daniel Romo is the author of Apologies in Reverse (FutureCycle Press 2019), When Kerosene’s Involved (Mojave River Press, 2014), and Romancing Gravity (Silver Birch Press, 2013). His poetry can be found in The Los Angeles Review, PANK, Barrelhouse, and elsewhere. He has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte, and he is an Associate Poetry Editor at Backbone Press. He lives and teaches in Long Beach, CA. More at danielromo.net.