Synkroniciti is thrilled to welcome poet Mykki Rios, currently based in Colorado. “Broken” features three of their poems. “WHEN YOU REALIZE IT’S NOT LOVE” is a modern, thoughtful response to a question that has plagued human relationships and the psyche for centuries: why do we create and stay in relationships that are not loving? This question remains taboo in many circles and the failure to examine our relationships creates pain that cannot be healed because it cannot be addressed: “there’s a full body chill when you realize it’s not love but you aren’t going to walk away either”. Mykki takes the first step by initiating that internal examination, even though they aren’t ready to take action yet. “DEAD PHONE POEM” is a memory within a memory, as Mykki recalls being shamed for remembering a former lover with affection “after being told with surgical precision/ the tick of the clock on which/ it should have stopped”. Again, Mykki questions taboos: can we remember both the good and the bad of life without replacing experience with propaganda that holds up a particular viewpoint? The final poem of the set is “FAMILY SCENE,” about the purchase of five clay figurines in Kyoto, each an animal representing a family member’s birth year. Mykki explores the connection of each animal to the personality of the family member–their intuitive perception is both insightful and delightful. By the time we arrive at the last figure, a dragon symbolizing a younger brother, it has cracked and Mykki makes a wonderful miracle of that brokenness and what synchronicity it may hold. I won’t spoil the surprise. In addition to their perceptiveness and vulnerability, Mykki has a striking talent for imagery and for modern free verse form and innovation, incorporating spacing shifts and elements of visual poetry, as well as an extremely effective use of internal slashes in the final poem. “WHEN YOU REALIZE IT’S NOT LOVE” and “FAMILY SCENE” were both finalists in our poetry contest.
Read Mykki’s cutting edge poetry in our September 1st issue, “Broken,” available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/. This is a fresh young voice you will want to follow.
Mykki Rios is a queer genderfluid Mexican-American poet, performer and multimedia artist. Raised in Chicago, and having lived many places across the globe, Mykki has had works featured in issues of Welter, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, Random Sample Review, Smoke and Mold Journal, Lupercalia Press’ Vulcanalia anthology, and more. They were also a finalist in Lupercalia Press’ 2022 Chapbook Series Contest.