Author Archives: Aaron Guile

balance

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My great grandfathers worked the line their great grandfathers before them 10 hours a day 12 hours a day 14 hours a day 16 hours a day because otherwise their wives and children would starve and these men gave their lives to the line but their hearts were only with their children and for that reason they died young

their anger runs through

the great white oak woods — summer

moths dancing in the coals.

Prompt: How do you balance work and home life?

Finally Seeing

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When I became the lone responsible adult

and I looked down at the three pairs of eye balls

consuming McDonald’s french fries in LAX

just after the yellow skies had cleared Seoul

and the summer monsoon had begun in South Korea

I knew that no matter my fluency in the language of buildings

and my ability to see behind sheet rock

I would never climb a roof again.

Prompt: What sacrifices have you made in life?

I Was Born (a tool)

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I was born

I was born with a tool

I was born with a tool before my father’s birth

I was born with a tool before my grandfather’s birth

I was born with a tool in my hand

I was born with a tool for a hand

I was born with a tool a hammer

I was born with a tool a screwdriver

I was born with a tool a reciprocating saw

I was born with a tool a gun

I was born with a tool to feed

I was born with a tool to feed myself

I was born with a tool to feed my family

I was born with a tool to serve

I was born with a tool to serve my community

I was born with a tool to serve the man

I was born with a tool to build the machine

I was born with a tool to fix the machine

I was born with a tool to serve the machine

I was born with a tool to be the machine

I was born with a tool to be a machine

Prompt: What’s the oldest things you’re wearing today?

Fruit Salad Recipe

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I mixed the chopped Korean Pears, cayenne,

the honey, orange juice, the lemon zest,

molasses first then setting it aside

I cut the pineapple, the peaches, grapes,

bananas… voices chime in: grandma, dead

for twenty years, suggests coconut,

some celery, and marshmallows that with

some Hellman’s Mayonnaise would lighten, add

illumination, brightness rather than

the earthy darkness of the marinade

I made before. Uncomfortable with

the now, the past, my past, our past bemoans

extrapolations, innovations, strange

miscegenations, fusions seeking dreams,

idyllic notions that have never been.

I do not want a Waldorf Salad can’t

you see? I want sober realities.

I want what’s in my house right now. So, past

hallucinations, add some blueberries

and pecans, maybe raspberries as well—

we are creating something new (thank God).

Prompt: List your top 5 favorite fruits.