Avalon, Shangri-La, the Promised Land.
That this is our story.
To come and sit at the table.
Will mother come to visit us?
Being in exile of exile.
This poem is a redaction from a Reading and Speaking Session Richard Blanco gave at City University of Hong Kong on July 21, 2014.
Richard Blanco ( http://richard-blanco.com/ ) was “made in Cuba, assembled in Spain, imported to the U.S.” He served as the fifth inaugural poet of the United States for President Obama’s second inauguration in 2012, at which he read the poem “One Today.” Blanco was the first Latino, immigrant and gay writer, as well as the youngest, accorded this honor. His books of poetry are Looking for the Gulf Motel (2012), Directions to the Beach of the Dead (2005) and City of a Hundred Fires (1998) which received the prestigious Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize, and which one critic calls “the most exciting first book of the decade – vibrant and diverse, infused with energy and formal dexterity, equally at ease in Spanish and English.” Recent works include Boston Strong (2013), a commemorative chapbook that reproduces his poignant poem presented at the Boston Strong Concert, following the tragic events in April that year at the Boston Marathon. His most recent book is nonfiction, For All of Us, One Today (2013), which describes his journey as the inaugural poet. Blanco holds a MFA from Florida International University, and has taught at Central Connecticut University as well as several other universities. He was named a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow at Maclester College which awarded him an honorary doctorate. Blanco is also an engineer who has designed several town revitalization projects.
matter but usually people do not speak about these issues.