TREADING FIRE I, peacock, in this cage of light, must pace;/ For resplendent in one-thousand-faceted mirrors,/ In the artificial conservatory,/ I am tethered to introspection,/ Building lapis-lazuli monuments/ To a million profane eyes.// Or, am I prisoner of the flip-book movie train--/ Now, alternating bars of pitch and bright,/ A rapid-transit schooner of the track-grid life,/ Gliding in Doppler motion toward some ultimate/ And static mouth of darkness?// In the umbric ellipse of the elevated train,/ I wrap the lion’s skin around me,/ For, I have found myself ashore,/ Slippered in bottle-glass, in leggings/ Of leaves and silver,/ And, treading fire on the doomed boardwalk,/ Where xanthic stripes of hard light,/ Paste the sun to planks, buttering shadows.// There must be a mark, pocked,/ On the nautilus map of life,/ Where the eventuality of pain finally,/ Asserts its turnkey shell.// Slag-spun to oily dross and jetsom,/ Sequined in the fish-scales where I drowned,/ Pushing down the losing sand to tide,/ Is death’s suave water mark:// Worn to effect by waves of fire,/ Torn to the bone and kidnapped by/ the undertow,/ Aflame in the hot-lipped sting of the jellyfish kiss,/ In thrall to the swordfish’s trident slash,/ The metered crab caressing the seagull,/ The marlin measuring time.// The orange orb that covers us in feathers of gold,/ Falls into the sea, and floats,/ near the zinc horizon;/ Iridescent in self-light,/ Like illuminated fruit in a tidal/ pool,/ Manacled, to twilight.// --Lola Rodriguez, "Treading Fire" Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved. Rodriguez' work has appeared in over 60 publications--books, magazines, reviews, and journals. Please use contact information to book performances and workshops.

Notes from a Solitary Rumba (Linear Arts Press, 1986)

Connections: New York City Bridges in Poetry (P & Q Press, 2012), The Occupy Wall Street Poetry Anthology (Word Press, 2012), New to North America (Burning Bush Publishing, 2006), Tokens: Contemporary Poetry of the Subway (P & Q Press, 2003), Painters and Poets (Tribes Books, 1998), The Coffeehouse Poetry Anthology (Bottom Dog Press, 1996)

A Gathering of the Tribes, Afro-Hispanic Review, Barrow Street, Calyx, Contemporary Literary Review India, Excursus, Flyway, Lungfull!, Milk, Muse india, phati'tude Literary Magazine, Salonika Quarterly, Sensitive Skin, Tamarind, The Caribbean Writer, The Columbia Review, The English Journal, The Evergreen Review, The Paterson Literary Review, The Portable Boog City Reader, The World, Tongues of the Ocean

The Brecht Forum--Solo Performance for The Icarus Project (2012), The National Arts Club (2012), Small World Coffee Princeton (2011), Princeton Reading for US 1 "Princeton Fountain" (2006), The Smithsonian Institution (2006), Teachers and Writers Collaborative (2003), Barnes & Noble Bookstore (2002), New York Public Library (2002), Cafe Nico (2000), Chez La Roe (2000), Live at the Gershwin (2000), London's Institute of Contemporary Art (2000), Meow Mix (2000), Asian American Writer's Workshop Reading Series (1999), Community Gardens Performance Series (1999), Felipe Luciano Show (1999), Life Cafe (1999), Telephone Bar (1999), The Literary Life With George Plimpton (1999), The Red Room (1999), Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass Reading (1998), Fez (1998), La Mama Theatre (1998), St. Mark's Poetry Project (1998), Cafe No Bar (1997), Langston Hughes Birthday Celebration, Lola Rodriguez, special guest appearance with Daniel Thompson and Drumplay (1997), The Knitting Factory (1997), Cornelia Street Cafe (1996), The Whitney Museum of American Art (1996), "Lola Rodriguez Out Loud" at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe (1995), ABC No Rio (1995), Cleveland Public Theatre (1995), Hispanic Pride Festival (1993), Wildflower Performance Space (1993), Arabica Performance in Playhouse Square (1990), Lola Rodriguez "Live at the Shire" (1989), Red Star (1989), Spaces Gallery (1989), The Poetry Center--Master Class & Performance (1989), La Casa Maya, Merida, Yucatan (1988), The World Cup (1988), Karamu Theatre (1986)