Juan Pablo Mobili

‍ ‍

Learning

‍ ‍Breath becomes an afterthought.
Kestrel Feiner-Homer

 Breath becomes an afterthought
and curiosity begins —your lungs

gasping as wide-eyed as altar boys.
A stubborn lesson remains lodged

in the old hurt, like an ancient vase
turning to dust but holding to its handle,

or a monk watching desire blow
away like dandelion spores

throughout the monastery,
leaving him holding the stem.

Juan Pablo Mobili was born in Buenos Aires, and adopted by New York. In January of 2025, he became Poet Laureate of Rockland County, New York. His poems appeared in Tupelo Quarterly, Worcester Review, Louisville Review, and Hanging Loose Press, among others, as well as publications in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. He received multiple Pushcart nominations, and his chapbook Contraband was published in 2022. In 2025, he was appointed Poet Laureate of Rockland County, New York.