Synkroniciti is pleased to welcome back poet Mykki Rios, currently based in Boulder, Colorado, with two perceptive poems about the kinds of vulnerability that help us grow. The first, “WALK TWO MOONS(after Sharon Creech),” named after Creech’s 1994 novel, is about extending empathy to those who have left us and taking charge, in a compassionate way, of our path: “now that i’m older / i know that even the mirror / cannot show you yourself sometimes / which is why it’s so important / being deliberate / about how you turn into someone else /”. Mykki’s sagacity is astounding and empowering. We can’t change the past, but we can change the future by deciding to be present. “MOVING DAY” is a tribute to new love and how it changes our perception, not only of the world around us, but of ourselves: “/ you press fingertips / on the doorbell of my lips / and strings in my chest strum new chords / house warmed / whatever glum winter was / it’s changing seasons now.” Their use of alliteration and punchy rhythm creates a giddy playfulness and begs to be read out loud. Both poems are written in blocks with virgules–those are the slashes that appear between groups of words. They build speed and rhythm by indicating pauses but not full line breaks, moving the eye ahead. Mykki is a master of this modern form.
Read Mykki’s innovative poetry in Synkroniciti’s “Vulnerable” issue, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Mykki Rios is a queer genderfluid Mexican-American poet, performer and multimedia artist. Raised in Chicago, and having lived many places across the globe, they currently reside in Boulder, Colorado. Mykki has had works featured in issues of Welter, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, Random Sample Review, Smoke and Mold Journal, The Normal School, The Coachella Review, Fourth River Journal and more. They were also a finalist in Lupercalia Press’ 2022 Chapbook Series Contest.