{"id":13755,"date":"2020-06-12T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/three-poems-by-esteban-rodriguez\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T12:18:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:18:46","slug":"three-poems-by-esteban-rodriguez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/06\/12\/three-poems-by-esteban-rodriguez\/","title":{"rendered":"Throw Down, Heist, &amp; Bury"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/boudin_mcneese\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong><strong>Esteban Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>Throw Down<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">With rumors in every room,<br>you learn who wants to throw down<br>with who, that tomorrow,<br>or the next day or the next,<br>you will face an enemy you didn\u2019t know<br>you had. And so, you go home,<br>raid your mother\u2019s jewelry box,<br>put on every ring she owns,<br>and in your room, after you convince<br>yourself how angry you should feel,<br>you begin punching the wall,<br>over, over, and over again,<br>until the bleeding starts,<br>and your knuckles become numb,<br>and you imagine this is the way<br>your father feels, not just fatigued<br>when he comes home from work,<br>but defeated, less of himself,<br>ready to take out what he bottled<br>all day on the nearest wall,<br>or on a lamp, a chair, or on a cheek<br>that sometimes happens to be yours,<br>or that sometimes, when you\u2019re<br>at a distance watching him,<br>is your mother\u2019s. And you imagine,<br>knowing that you shouldn\u2019t,<br>that if you\u2019re as successful<br>as your father is, your opponent<br>will limp to the corner, and after<br>the crying stops, and silence swells<br>his throat, he will look at you,<br>like your mother looks at your father,<br>and accept that when two bodies<br>are thrust together, one is bound to lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>Heist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Neighborhoods later,<br>and my cousin finds one<br>he likes, a black lab, older<br>than a puppy, but still young<br>enough to sell. And so,<br>because the house has no fence,<br>and the dog is chained in the corner<br>of the yard, we step out of Lalo\u2019s<br>car, confident that with night<br>as our accomplice, we can feed it<br>the leftovers we brought,<br>and that once we sweet talk<br>our way closer, and the lab<br>lets down the last of its guard,<br>it will come away with us,<br>and for the next few days,<br>while Lalo negotiates the price,<br>I will help care for it, forget<br>that it was ever stolen,<br>that there is some boy or girl\u2014<br>no older than I am\u2014who<br>is putting up signs, who<br>is going door to door asking<br>if they\u2019ve seen their Shadow,<br>Max, the birthday gift they proved<br>all year they could be responsible for.<br>And when it\u2019s sold, and Lalo<br>pockets all the profit, you know<br>you won\u2019t question his actions,<br>or if he deserves it, or if you<br>should feel guilty for your role<br>in this, because who but you<br>is going to care, who but you<br>will have the best memories<br>to share?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>Bury<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The club but not the gloves,<br>bag, not the balls he picked up,<br>gazed at like a new specimen.<br>No, your father bought nothing else<br>at the garage sale that day,<br>and at home, with the club in his hand,<br>he stood in the middle of the yard,<br>swung at nothing again and again,<br>until something within him said<br>he should hit every empty beer can,<br>and after sending them into the driveway<br>or street, he should swing at what<br>had long be ignored: rusted nails,<br>chunks of wood, small car parts<br>your father had tossed, saying,<br>if only to himself, that he was going<br>to use them someday, only that day<br>never came, and instead this one<br>found him swinging, so suddenly,<br>harder, harder, hoisting the club<br>over his head, and with all his strength,<br>smashing the ground till he made a hole,<br>one, you believed, where he could bury<br>if not his anger, then at least his regret\u2014<br>every thing he could have done, every<br>version of himself he could have been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Esteban Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong> is the author of the poetry collections <em>Dusk &amp; Dust<\/em>, <em>Crash Course<\/em>, <em>In Bloom<\/em>, <em>(Dis)placement<\/em>, and <em>The Valley<\/em>. His work has appeared in <em>Boulevard<\/em>, <em>Shenandoah<\/em>, <em>The Rumpus, TriQuarterly<\/em>, and elsewhere. He is the Interviews Editor for the <em>EcoTheo Review<\/em>, an Assistant Poetry Editor for <em>AGNI<\/em>, and a regular reviews contributor for <em>[PANK]<\/em> and <em>Heavy Feather Review.<\/em> He lives with his family in Austin, Texas. You can find him on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/estebanjrod11\">@estebanjrod11<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&lt;&lt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/05\/14\/we-are-cut-from-shorter-days-by-anthony-okpunor\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/08\/04\/is-it-too-tender-to-kiss-by-hannah-rousselot\/\">Next<\/a> &gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Esteban Rodr\u00edguez __________ Throw Down With rumors in every room,you learn who wants to throw downwith who, that tomorrow,or the next day or the next,you will face an enemy you didn\u2019t knowyou had. And so, you go home,raid your mother\u2019s jewelry box,put on every ring she owns,and in your room, after you convinceyourself how angry&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[252,17],"tags":[75,103,77,18],"class_list":["post-13755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boudin-2020","category-poetry","tag-boudin","tag-estebanrodriguez","tag-mcneesereview","tag-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13755"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22350,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13755\/revisions\/22350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}