You wake up, Juan Domínguez,in your Latin American cityand open the eyes,open the mouth of that facethat is the sameas all who will be forgottendespite the memoryof the photographin the passport you never processed.In this world your face matters lessthan the fruit of your hands: cocoa, black beans, coffee.The people who besiege you, the demonsthat now ariseamong the living greenare barely human: One, whom they call the shadow,has lion’s claws,a serpent’s neck, the wings of an insect.Their voices are not voices but noise.The field in which you work lies naked,is a garden without delight, mournful green.You have seen from herewhat the center of hell is: You lived it in your fleshwithout epiphany,without mystical experience,enlightenment and, perhaps,without testimony.This is you, Juan Domínguez:a simple man,a quiet worker,a godless martyr. AlbaTe despiertas, Juan Domínguez,en tu ciudad latinoamericanay abres los ojos,abres la boca de ese rostroque es el mismode todos los que serán olvidadosa pesar de la memoriade las fotografiasdel pasaporte que jamás tramitaste.Para este mundo tu rostro importa menosque el fruto de tus manos: cacao, frijol, café.Las personas que te asedian, los demoniosque ahora surgenentre la vida verdeson apenas personas: uno, al que llaman la sombra,tiene garras de león,cuello de sierpe, alas de insecto.Sus voces no son voces sino ruido.El campo en que trabajas se desnuday es jardín sin delicia, verde triste.Has visto desde aquílo que es el centro del infierno: lo has vivido en tu carnesin epifanía ningunasin experiencia místicasin iluminación y, tal vez,sin testimonio.Esto eres, Juan Domínguez:hombre sencillo,trabajador callado,mártir sin dios.
Sunrise
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“Sunrise” from Toda la tierra es un jardín de monstruos/The Whole Earth Is a Garden of Monsters © 2026 Manuel Iris.
Reprinted by permission of the University of Arizona Press.
English copyright © 2026 by Manuel Iris.
All rights reserved.
Manuel Iris (1983) is a Mexico-born American poet who has held several distinguished positions, including Poet Laureate of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio; writer in residence at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, and writer in residence at Thomas More University. In 2021, he was named a member of the National System of Art Creators of Mexico.
He is the author of six poetry collections that have gained national and international recognition. In 2022 the Autonomous University of Chiapas (Mexico) released Traductor del silencio: acrecamientos criticos a la obra de Manuel Iris [Translator of silence: Critical Approaches to the Work of Manuel Iris], a collective volume of essays, reviews, and interviews by 23 authors about his poetic works. In 2025, Iris received the Ambroggio Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets for his book The Whole Earth is a Garden of Monsters/Toda la tierra es un jardín de monstruos, recently published by the University of Arizona Press.
Manuel Iris has given readings, lectures, and talks across Mexico, the United States, and Europe. He currently resides and writes in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Winner of the Ambroggio Prize of the Academy of American Poets
This award-winning bilingual collection intertwines the lives of a Renaissance painter and a modern migrant worker, offering a fresh perspective on art and migration.
In this highly imaginative work, the lives of the northern Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch (1450–1516) and an imagined contemporary migrant worker named Juan Coyoc, later known as Juan Domínguez, run in parallel as they mirror each other across languages, time, and continents.
By comparing and at times intertwining these two poetic narratives, the book explores themes of art, migration, narco-violence, family, spirituality, and the idea that every human being represents all humanity at any moment in history. Both Hieronymus Bosch and Juan Domínguez become relatable and intimate figures, part of our own story.
Written in simple, sharp language, the book employs surprising imagery and a novel structure to blur the boundaries between reality and fiction, while examining the intricacies of the human condition—from the life of Saint Anthony to the violent acts of narcos across Central America and the U.S.-Mexico border. With formal sophistication and philosophical depth, this work enriches the tradition of poetry about both migration and art, contributing to the literary heritage of Mexico and the United States over the past several decades.
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