TO BE IN THE MOUNTAINS IS A FLOWER OPENING WITHIN THE WORLD

Pelez writes how they climb, with the patience of mountains and glaciers, the swiftness of birds and streams. Originally written during 2023 and printed at their home in Haw River, North Carolina, the long poem introduces itself: Dogen sang Sansuikyo as if speaking with the North Cascades the birth of place, these words poems fruiting with humility & gratitude for the wild places that remain emilio Taiveaho Pelez is an investigative poet based in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Their word-work emerges from flesh-eye experiences within the living archives of American landscapes and seeks to grapple with the colonial languaging practices that shape these environments from sidewalks to national parks to the common places of lyric poetry.