excerpt from "The Age of Aquarius" by Roy G. Guzmán

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
November 6, 2020  

excerpt from “The Age of Aquarius”


Roy G. Guzmán

Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in. I have learned to repeat these words to myself whenever I feel stuck.

Fear rustles mantras out of my body. I have risked a motherland. Why not also seduce the foreigner who implores nativity if loneliness can be broken and shared?

When Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical debuts on Broadway in April of 1968, it becomes the first production to include a nude scene with its entire cast.

Around the same time, Star Trek has popularized the phrase, Where no man has gone before.

Our bodies contain elements of outer space. So that when we’re naked we are gazing at the universe.

The night of my second panic attack, after getting released from the hospital and determined to change my mental health’s course, I dream of a nebula in the shape of an octopus, holding an astronaut in each tentacle. From my perspective, the cosmonauts feed on all my arms.

No more falsehoods or derisions. Golden living dreams of visions. Mystic crystal revelation and the mind's true liberation.

In the Age of Aquarius, give or take, plurality overtakes singularity. History becomes bored by its self-referentialism. Triangles burrow into single lines. Equal signs collapse on the spikes of other equal signs.

In the Age of Aquarius, give or take, we give birth to information and information delivers us. I make a fist and my fist speaks in four languages. Letters enter me and suddenly I experience flavors few before me have.

In the Age of Aquarius, give or take, gender is a tree is a building is a cloud. It is anything that hasn’t been said. The truest instinct one listens to more and more.

Copyright © 2020 by Roy G. Guzmán. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 6, 2020, by the Academy of American Poets.

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“Literature on mental illness, written by queer and trans BIPOC authors, is hard to come about. Adding to that unique legacy, this excerpt is part of a longer piece about mental health, queer love, pop culture, and decolonial worldmaking. I am interested in the various connections between the individual and what we gather under the umbrella term ‘collective.’ As you read this excerpt, play the 5th Dimension’s version of the medley ‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In’ and imagine what a better tomorrow might look like.”
Roy G. Guzmán

Roy G. Guzmán is the author of Catrachos (Graywolf Press, 2020) and Restored Mural for Orlando (Queerodactyl Press, 2016). They are a PhD candidate in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where they are also an adjunct instructor. They live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Catrachos
(Graywolf Press, 2020)

Black Lives Matter Anthology
 
“Oh! How could we not have seen
ourselves before? So much more”

—“Absolute” by Jacqueline Woodson
 
“Things Haunt” by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza
read more
“A Queerification” by Regie Cabico
read more

Thanks to Heid E. Erdrich, author of Little Big Bully (Penguin Books, 2020), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read a Q&A about Erdich’s curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year
This free, daily series is made possible by our readers. If you’re able, please consider donating to support this work.
Become a monthly sustainer
join
Make a one-time gift
donate
Copyright © 2020 The Academy of American Poets, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
The Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane
St #901
New York, NY 10038

Add us to your address book


View this email in your browser

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

"America is Loving Me to Death" by Michael Kleber-Diggs

Thursday, November 5, 2020

America is loving me to death, loving me to death slowly, and I Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 5, 2020 America is Loving Me to Death Michael Kleber-Diggs acrostic golden shovel

"The Index" by Rena Priest

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

In the beginning there was darkness, / then a bunch of other stuff Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 4, 2020 The Index Rena Priest In the beginning there was darkness, then a bunch

Shelter in Poems with Mary Jo Bang, Poems for Election Day, Book Recommendations from Tina Cane

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poets.org November 3, 2020 How will it feel months from now Mary Jo Bang when the pink sliver of sky swims in through the window and you hear the high notes from the

"Ozaagi’aan One Open to an Other" by Margaret Noodin

Monday, November 2, 2020

Gizaagi'in apii zaagi'idizoyan / I love you when you love yourself Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 2, 2020 Ozaagi'aan One Open to an Other Margaret Noodin Gizaagi

"Revolutionary Letter #1" by Diane di Prima

Sunday, November 1, 2020

I have just realized that the stakes are myself Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 1, 2020 Revolutionary Letter #1 Diane di Prima I have just realized that the stakes are myself I

You Might Also Like

5 Things That Can Lower Your Home's Resale Value

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Do This to Get Your US Passport Faster. Sometimes the path to a higher home value is taking stuff away, not adding more. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S FEATURED

Weekend: You Are Not Your Friends’ Taxi 🚕

Saturday, November 16, 2024

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 16, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser Header Image But first: an advent calendar that feels like a French vacation Update location or View forecast

Fossiling

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Little stories all around us ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

"To Wahilla Enhotulle" by Alexander Posey

Saturday, November 16, 2024

O Wind, hast thou a sigh / Robbed from her lips divine Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the work of

This Maximalist Coat Trend Is My Winter 2024 Hero Piece

Saturday, November 16, 2024

It's an outfit-maker. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.15.2024 This Maximalist Coat Trend Is My Winter 2024 Hero Piece (The Shopping List) This Maximalist Coat Trend Is My Winter 2024 Hero

5-Bullet Friday — 63 Principles for Living, Treating Cancer with Viruses, Learning from Japanese Gardeners, and More

Friday, November 15, 2024

“When it comes to filmmaking, money isn't important. The intensity of your wishes and faith alone are the deciding factors.” ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Please Don't Use Any of These Passwords

Friday, November 15, 2024

The Rise of Doom Spending (and How to Stop). NordPass has released its annual list of the 200 most commonly used passwords. Don't use any of them. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter

Sofia Richie Made Y2K's Most-Hated Trend Look Elegant

Friday, November 15, 2024

Plus, Olivia Rodrigo's 'GUTS'-coded dress, Charli XCX's curly hair secrets, your horoscope, and more. Nov. 15, 2024 Bustle Daily SEX Men Are Using Instagram's Close Friends For

Influencers Are Going Full MAGA

Friday, November 15, 2024

Today in style, self, culture, and power. The Cut November 15, 2024 CULTURE Influencers Are Going Full MAGA After Trump's win, a red hat no longer seems so bad for business. Photo-Illustration: the

The best way to cook with mangoes

Friday, November 15, 2024

Black Friday deals for pots and pans start now ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌