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Born in San Francisco in 1938. Raised there and in El Salvador, where his parents came from. Hated/loved and conformed to the city’s schools where he presently works as a substitute teacher, K-12 grades.
Is often called Santa Claus by the children who befriend him.
Crucible
by Carlos Ramirez
The organ cactus on Alvarado Street expands, deepens, and rises
each of its’ columns ringed by scarred dots
that mark outbursts of flowers once in bloom
this cactus knows abuse
its stalks were axed some years ago
by a neighbor or more furious with the property’s landlord
Since then, offspring have flowered and bloomed from its' crippled stumps
I wonder about the earthly mysteries that cultivate its' looming breath
and whether or not we are each a cactus
regenerative, succulent and vulnerable
to anyone who would strike us in fits of rage and terror.
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