February Senryū
leap on a year | make it yours prosper and grow | wildly
family | blood and the ones who take you in | sunshine and rainstorms
then you fly skyward | to a new destination | holding onto earth
the circle of life | rotates at breakneck speed | daily we pray for peace
can we forgive | what was our life as children | not pass on the sins
gone away again | fleeting moments together | her life's not the same
give her one good word | takes it in like a deep breath | exhales a poem
broken down steel mills | the city of my youth now | a blown down ghost town
what a great life | sun is shining through the haze | a day to give thanks
it's a long way home | when you live in three countries | your heart the anchor
he is her country | in sleep she travels to see | there are no borders
give thanks for today | tomorrow may never come | live the joy life brings
silencing women | all you hear are your own fears | echoing back
no room for fear | to seep in at night on tails | of otherwise dreams
a two year old wise | says strawberries are hearts | makes a sweet life
your heart and mine | entwined for a lifetime | one beat at a time ♥
the mottled grey sky | with sun barely peeking through | feels like my heart
no words | silence soothes the sadness | only time can heal
fly on the wings | of your songs that flew us high | into ancestors arms
our sacred sites | thin the veils between | edges of another world
we are still here | people think we've disappeared | ancestors returned
seeds bleed up through red | earth feeding her children | a blessed birthright
always on the move | winning and losing her ground | around the globe
leaves quiver | water trembles in its pool |the ground zigzagging
underwater | islands are forming | birthing up through shale
onyx colored eyes | shimmer your reflection | dark as lake bottom
catches her breath | on inhale she prays inward | needing more goodness
talk with ancestors | tell them of our plight | may they help us win the fight
against ignorance | against fear and hate | for all that is good and just
© Odilia Galván Rodríguez, 2012
January Senryū
back in the bay | grey waters match the sky | loved ones brighten the day
humidity lingers | on edges of this day | then folds into rain
spidery gray |the clouds close their gloved fingers | around this cool day
the rain-wind howled in | perched on thunder beings wings | marching in circles
sometimes life's beautiful | so beautiful | it seems like a dream
moonlight catches silver | highlights in gray hair | earned through survival
your essence lives on | dedication and hard work | is still flowering
born dew-struck the dawn | stained bluish it's silky skin | from greenish water
time's broken open | some families fall apart | unshielded from pain
ocean's voice so far | eddies in the moonlight | your sea still calls me
difficult mornings | hummingbirds miss their visit | when she aches for peace
everyday poems | the ones that report your day | little words that shout
behold | a faded flower | in all her beauty
circling the years | that flash of life lived fast | slow is forever
wild and fiery | she gives thanks for her life | a roaring beauty
night shadows recede | footsteps fade on cobblestones | day leaks under shades
a surge of the sea | salt reaches open windows | tears come in waves
in the dark kitchen | they dance their hearts together | songs of a lifetime
windows cracked and split | by stones shot at mango tree | ripe fruit falls frightened
opaque with stardust | a navy-blue sky pregnant | with the moon's promise
jarred from a nightmare | her room quakes in fear | she's safe under thick blankets
the edge of sandbars | rivers thick underwater | currents singing
dark and steamy streets | currents of people streaming | going nowhere
monsoon rains | whip the roofs in ropes | singing winter songs
earth will pass through clouds | watery incarnation | of icy crystals
mornings here make an entrance | sun calls you from sleep | says its a NEW day
an odd light glistens | into their bedroom window | not night nor day
brushing her arm | like feathers his fingers light | he folds her into him
you guide me in arms | we glide to the sound of waves | at the Malecon
she cried black tears | while he held her in his arms | counted their heartbeats
arms, a delicate framework | for all lovers | dancing a lifetime
© Odilia Galván Rodríguez
