Evaporating Rage

The brilliant, concentrated angers of Norm Mattox’ s verse meet the indifferent cruelties of this world head-on with these pointedly eviscerating poems. Evaporating Rage is full of vulnerable strength and moments of great beauty and clarity. These poems hit like hammer strikes and are observant, informed, and explosively wise.

— James Cagney, author of Martian: The Saint of Loneliness, winner of the 2021 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets

Norm Mattox is a poet. He served as a bilingual educator in the public school system of San Francisco Unified School District for over 30 years. Though retired, Norm is a teacher ('maestro' in Spanish) for life. His poetry is a journey through the voices that tell a story of love in a time of struggle and challenge. Norm's poetry has been published in two chapbooks. His first collection is titled, Get Home Safe, Poems for Crossing the Community Grid. Norm's second chapbook length collection is titled Black Calculus, published in 2021 by Nomadic Press.

Table of Contents Foreword Introduction unalien in my shadow amerikkka has been infected a life-threatening experience positional asphyxia the ocean we are drowning in polite rage pointy hoods and red ties a stain on memory reality has caught up to the nightmare which look? four crescents raised on PTSD my Black not blue enough? ancestral diatribe safe at home the boil in the bubble how to sustain peace i’ m wrestling ... notes to myself over my head meditation threads what you don’ t have weighs you down in search of myself like it or not tumbling walls my mind is a heartless voyeur (keeps love in the basement in a transparent freezer) sir real some other times silence life in the in-between mourning interrupted if i go first ashes yearn for company i lick the scar (when the wound heals) tears what world do we live? in limbo a journey across the veil of my flesh will we ever hug again? falling down a mind in touch with a body weather report walk in the woods from horizon to horizon breaking down the pedestal anticipation in time for life evaporating light Acknowledgements