Rudy Calderón
In his fourth book of verse, the works of Rudy Calderón have searched beyond the five senses to reach for an un-sensing reality, a 19th century transcendental realm. From Odes to Whitman, Ray Charles, Nelson Mandela, and Ho Chi Minh, to the reverberating poems like “Today I Celebrate Myself” and “Simple Cord” Calderon’s poetry shows a passionate struggle for unearthing the layers of the human soul. This volume of poetry has unleashed “El Duende,” the muse has been liberated to such an extent that this piece of work has taken a life of its own. The eclectic assortment of soul searching letters found here will keep the reader coming back to attempt to decipher the message left from Calderon’s poetry. A connoisseur of poetry must pick and add this volume to their library.
Rudy Calderón was born in the metropolis of Los Angeles, California in December of 1974. He is the sixth of eight children and a first generation Mexican-American. His family has resided in Santa Maria, California since the late 1970s. Rudy is a product of a loving Mexican family who has lived and worked the beautiful landscapes that surround the coastal city of Santa Maria, California. They were migrant workers who worked in such crops like strawberries, squash, and tomatoes. Rudy attended elementary schools such as Adam Elementary, Robert Bruce Elementary, and Oakley Elementary School. He went on to attend and graduate from El Camino Junior High School in 1988. He then attended Santa Maria High School and graduated with a diploma in 1992. He went on to Allan Hancock College where, in 1999, he graduated with Associate degrees in the fields of Social Science, Liberal Arts, and Transfer Studies. He transferred to Cal State University Bakersfield, where he was graduated with a BA in history (Cum Laude) and minor in political science in 2001. During his undergraduate years, he earned membership in the prestigious history honor society Phi Alpha Theta. Moreover, Rudy has been awarded the William C. Adam Scholarship (1999) as well as Hispanic Excellence Scholarship (2001) for his scholarly work. He has taught Modern World History at Santa Maria High School, Pioneer Valley High School, and Righetti High School in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District. He has also taught Modern World History and Spanish at Cabrillo High School for the Lompoc Unified School District. Rudy was a guest speaker at the 8th Annual Latino Book and Family Festival at CSU Los Angeles in September of 2004 hosted by Edward James Olmos. Moreover, he was invited to be the guest poet and recite from his works at The Center in Arroyo Grande, California in February of 2005. In October 2005, he was invited and spoke and read from his works in California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. In addition to this book, Rudy has also authored the following books: I Wonder If You Will Ponder: A Collection of Poems (2003), Existential Fighting Through My Writings (2004), and Mi Familia Mexicana: Versos Sinceros (2005). To order books, please visit the following website: www. authorhouse.com
Angel of life
Celestial flower of all times!
The flower of flowers!
You have my oxygen,
The only one that can come and mend
You, the presence of my longing!
Where have been all my suns?
I have traveled far and below, where many a nights
Only found crows but, you, have calmed my unquiet soul
You, the presence of my passion
Have given me elations
To look at life as a great garden
Where lie many beautiful sights
The outline of your face
Lets me know that beautiful will be the
Future of the human race
Rain has fallen on my ubiquitous drought
Goddess, muse… in simple You!
Righteous river of happiness
New England is in awe of California
Such a beautiful, shapely, seductive state
I, humbly, offer you my hand
You fill what nothing can.
Today I celebrate myself
Today, I celebrate myself
No longer searching through history
Someone to love
I celebrate my hands that are the faithful
Soldiers of my mind
I celebrate my feet that travel to fulfill
My worldly mission
I have traveled to the end of the world and back
There, I talked with gods and towards their message
My ears were lent
Today, I celebrate no other!
Today, I care not for the unfixable lovers
But lean over and kiss my soul, which has been much more distant
Subjugated under cloudy, unnecessary,
Materialistic covers
Today, I celebrate my past and future existence
To Sartre and Camús, this would
Definitely be a pestilence
I revel in my small idiosyncrasies and particulars
No longer concerned about
Superficial ridicules
Today, I celebrate volatility
The counter has caused a blurred and
Pessimistic reality
Today, I celebrate my youth
Ten years ago, I was dying of old age
Trapped in a parochial, ignorant, and structural cage
I now have courage to rise above a complex that followed
For years, but now allows me to flourish
Today, I celebrate my life!
It’s not so difficult after all
Always, before, looking for truth and longevity,
Somehow always falling and toward God calling
My new secret that has opened the heavens and
Full force of the cosmos has told me that
To really live is to…
“Smile every morning as you cultivate,
With your eyes, that struggling rose!”
For this small, but vital advice through words,
I sing and celebrate with jubilant,
Transcendent chords
Today, I celebrate myself
I’m no longer locked in that debilitating labyrinth
But now travel through walls,
As I contemplate the virtuous
City of Corinth
Why has it taken so long?
