Art Arena's World Poems - Poet: Lisa Zaran

Lisa Zaran

Lisa Zaran says of herself:

"I am a poet and essayist living in Arizona.
I have authored five collections, my first of which (The Sometimes Girl) is currently the focus of a translation course in Germany.
Current individual poems can either be found or are forthcoming in 'A Little Poetry', 'Mastodon Dentist', 'The Dante Review', 'Poets Collective Magazine', 'Chantarelle's Notebook' among others."

"The Losses We've Acquired"

We live each morning in a new way, learning
to compensate for the things we do not have.
Demanding, not for perfection to come out of our
clearest desires, but an opportunity we can
recognize. Suspicious of so much, we offer
a few coins to the beggar; yet fail to meet
his eye.

Heading out to do the things we need to do,
the liquid sun swimming between sky scrapers,
the pale trees along Central Avenue, half naked,
half in leaf, the coffee shops eagerly poised
on every street corner, the consumers in their
business suits, and me in mine, more aptly
described as a monkey suit.

A moment gives rise. Another moment fails
miserably and commits suicide. How many
places are there for the things that are lost?
How many cities or underground warehouses
where innocence is stored? Could it be
that my youth, my happiness, my freedom
is locked up in a storeroom somewhere?

We charter each hour, one minute at a time,
this is what is required, this is what we must do,
our minds on our boss's needs, our hearts sealed
until midnight, the hour of dreams. We pretend
not to care about our losses, yet harbor them,
protectively.

This used to be mine. I used to own or love this.
This is now gone and I cannot, for the gifts
all given to me, move on. We show pictures,
we explain in a language applicable to our audiences,
this used to be mine. I lost it. Does anyone know
where I can find it? Anyone. Please, speak up.

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