Felino Soriano Tribute

Rich writes: I wrote “tonight/tomorrow” as a gift for Felino in his last days, and he
greatly appreciated the work and the gesture. His response to me was:
"tonight
i am jazz ~"
Yes, that is beautiful, as is the poem's entirety. Thank you, so very much for this gift. I
apologize for the slow response, as yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my
dad's passing, which has been difficult for me to deal with all week, coupled with my
poor physiological response to my chemotherapy.
I will print your poem, and keep it in my writing room.
Rich, thank you,
Felino
I first came to know Felino (he was one of those rare artists for whom no
surname was necessary) through the late Duane Locke’s online circle of poetic friends. I
had newly returned to Poetry after a thirty-plus year hiatus and was exceedingly unsure
of myself. Felino was warm, encouraging, and ultimately instrumental in my artistic
rebirth. He invited me to submit to his Counterexample Poetics online journal and
awarded me a permanent page as a featured artist. In my world, Felino was magic – a
guardian angel, hand-picked for me by a mentor we both revered. I don’t know how I
could have had any greater good fortune than to become friends with Felino – he was
the rarest kind of creative genius who achieves greatness with humility and
simultaneously encourages and brings out the best in others.
Felino was fond of saying that poetry was music – specifically, jazz – to him; for me,
poetry is more like an interpretive dance. I was not born with an athlete’s or a dancer’s
body and, as an asthmatic youth, was always envious of those who could run, jump, and
seemingly stop time in midair with effortless grace. It was not until I was well into
adulthood and well into my friendship with Felino that I realized what poetry means to
me – freedom. Through the miracle of poetry, I can be agile, graceful, and weightless. I
can dance, without self-consciousness or fear. Felino, through his own fearlessness, was
a lamp to light my own poetic re-emergence. I will never forget him, and I will always be
grateful. My feelings are best expressed in the brief tribute which I left on Felino’s
Facebook page shortly after his passing: “Felino, your time here with us has too soon
come to a close. Rest gently, brother poet, and know that you will be loved, honored, and
remembered as long as there is poetry in the world. Your gift is eternal.”