Dream of the Bird Tattoo

Juan J. Morales is an assistant professor of English at Colorado College. He is the author of three other books of poetry, including The Handyman's Guide to End Times: Poems (UNM Press). He lives in Pueblo, Colorado.

"With Dream of the Bird Tattoo, Juan J. Morales has created a stunning memoir-in-poems about his father's death and the grief that follows. This collection is honest, powerful, and heartbreaking." - Sean Prentiss, author of Crosscut: Poems

• Of AvocadosLife SupportMy Father's Blasphemy, or Excerpt from Shit My Puerto Rican Father SaidDream of the Space TattooLost Photo of Pop Holding an AnacondaMy Father's War MedalsExcerpt from Shit My Puerto Rican Father SaidThe Waves, or Las OlasDream of the Rising SeaTeaching Me to Shoot PoolThe Fifth CommandmentThe Lighthouse Dream"Puerto Rico Goes Dark"DogmaDream of the WolfExcerpt from Shit My Puerto Rican Father Said"Are You Sure This Isn't You?"Dream of the Old Antique ShopThe Saddest SongMy Father Looking at Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of IcarusNightmare of a BearMy Papa's Morning WalksDeath JokesVisiting Your GraveThe Veil, or Dad Checks in with Another DreamDestinyEvery Last SupperEl Chupacabra Visits ChicagoDream of Hungry CrabsExcerpt from Shit My Puerto Rican Father SaidDream of the LadybugsThe Medium Speaks of BirdsThe House of BeesThe Migratory Patterns of ChupacabrasDream of the Sun SpiritGrandpa MoneyInside My Black Sugar Skull NotebookDream of SynchronicityOne Year LaterExcerpt from Shit My Puerto Rican Father SaidMy Mother's DreamsActualization PrincipleLooking for DuendeDream of the MummyExcerpt from Shit My Puerto Rican Father SaidMagpies, Building a NestBoricua EconomicsExcerpt from Shit from My Puerto Rican Father SaidBury Me in a GuayaberaDad Watching Jackass"20,000 Pallets of Bottled Water Left Untouched in Storm-Ravaged Puerto Rico"Dream of the WidowExcerpt from Shit from My Puerto Rican Father SaidDear MamaDream of the Magic CoatDream of the Devil on Instant MessengerAubadeIf the Octopus DreamsLife Is a Dream, Then You Wake UpExcerpt from Shit from My Puerto Rican Father SaidVeterans Day WeekendCommendationsDream of the Flooded BathroomOf Deer, or Los VenadosDream of AcceptanceExcerpt from Shit from My Puerto Rican Father SaidDream of the Bird TattooAcknowledgments