August Senryū 2014

✿⊱╮

for love not war

his voice smooth as smoke | wafts its way around souls | engulfs her in flames

born an island girl | she needs alone time | and sunrise that smiles hello

if today she doesn't wake | she gives thanks for all | the loves of this life

sometimes dancing is a spell | or ceremony | to heal what ails you

in love with words | I am the mothers' daughter | hers only on loan

tight like teeth | only shares the necessary | smile for the truth

no power back when | they tried to take all her grace | she learned to cherish 

turnkey lockdown | heart that can only open | to the owner of the key | 

so it be | now and forever

you the greatest gift | a son to love always | proud as all mothers

they suggest beauty | as a way to combat stress | butterflies flowers |

all of it part of life | in the shadows and in grace

we put our hands up | now surrender could mean death | we are sacrificed

collateral damage | people no longer trust | in their government

weary of the war | before more horrors manifest | here at home

divorce is a death | this special person you've loved | is no longer there

don't apologize | you can't help who you love | love is a great thing

the best of life | is in the growing of it | you don't grow you go

moonbathes under satellite | super-sized shine | wishes on a star

beautiful to know | your love’s unconditional | that you're still here

let love break through | all those walls built in fear | its light will shine true

after shock | possibly fatal mishap | a near miss in slow motion

every name precious | lights blown out before their time | all of our children

seemingly sane | she goes on with life | tries not to weep at the rain |

not to hear slain voices |spirits amid the rubble

silence is complicity | next they come for you | who will speak then

forbidden love | timeless deep affection | enchanted entanglement

in her sleep she hears | bombs falling and she can't wake | people are trapped

you say I'm breaking | your heart it's not mine | while I continue to bend

blue spirit horses | brought a foretelling of peace | galloped through their dreams

it is our first drum | mother's heart that resonates | its beat into cells

love at first sight | seen through rose colored glasses | the blooms never leaves

she builds rooms with books | piled high are hopes and dreams | to be realized

hexagram heaven | what do the signs say today | listen to the wind

particles of change | miraculously give voice | to those with no tongue 

poems copyright © 2014 Odilia Galván Rodríguez. 

All Rights Reserved.

February Senryū ~ 2013

✿

just for today she forgets | preciousness taken | what can never be

she wants to stay | away from all who knew her | before time moved on |

and took her seedling away | wants no talk of it ever

nights she cannot sleep | for baby's incessant cry | forever silenced

the best medicine | is her child's catching laughter | keeps her tears at bay 

sun smooths its way | past dark hostile clouds | enters her heart with joy

death is absolute | though some believe in return | she believes spirit

homespun men and women | once backbone of a nation | that's turned its back

on its people dependent | on parasitical life

stark and angled planes | the midwest has mystery | hidden by its trees

willows weep their loss | green flowing hair in moonlight | branches wisps of whips

winter a long sleep | bone white and stark as stones | speaking in tongues

time heals pain | of grief that rips us so deep | in agonizing moments

inept a system | that treats people with motives | far-flung from healing

nightmares walk the day | endless cruel reality | will erase with time

there's a sweet princess | buried in every evil | queen that seems all bad  

fairytales come true | the moral of the stories | stare you in the face

snow turns to grey slush | cold rain soup covers the streets | cars skate over ice

a walk with wee one | down to almost frozen creek | reminds her to cry

skip stones across water | after flailing around | the surface deepens 

memory a painful maze | all paths seem dead ends | lead back to anguish

incipient snow | fall smothers future's promise | spring seems faraway

if she could fold light | she'd harness starshine | back into herself

ignite the spark of life flow | stay the sadness she must face

she unbraids her hair | unloosens the tears | sheers off years of sadness

he came in smelling | the kitchen fogged delicious | of snow and outdoors 

while mourning his loss | she tried not to lose her mind | cut off all her hair

the past is just that... gone

she wants Spring to fill | her days with flowers and song | sun to wash winter

he could not give | her even a sign | of love still broken

laid to rest before | little angel hovers | his time cut too short

she has no problem | getting older it's a sign | of survival

love and convenience | an itch that needs scratching | an egg that needs salt

January Senryū 2013

a birthday deferred | celebration of rainstorms | everyone stays home

her mind stuck on | a fearful future | promises cloudy horizons

she has ripened | past the size of full moon | beyond bursting

apprehensive of | birthing a premature dream | something going wrong

howl what's in your heart | shout what's in your soul | full wolf moon is listening ♥

though never idle | the people now stand larger | wearing their prayers

we worry for tomorrow | instead of living | today is right now

a mind plays tricks | when it's lived a life of lies | denial and avoidance

being between | east and west a middle | child trying to fit 

growing up "American" | with no connection | to your ancestors |

is like being severed | from the roots of your core

solidarity | is not only feeling | with all your heart |

but also lending your voice | acting on your convictions

sometimes we are magnets | for trouble looking | for a place to land

a round dance revolution | invite everyone | trade your guns for drums

brave woman starving | while carpetbaggers play dumb | for diplomacy

while people starve | the fat cats rub their stomachs | satisfied with lies

the beasts of the world | cloaked in money's shiny things | hide their ugliness

s/he who dies for someone | without question | is blind or a warrior

finally awake | the long sleeping | seek out the princess to thank

memory of a minute | ago seems like last year | fades fiercely

she relives | a childhood that never was | being old before her time

the grilled cheese | smiles at the tomato soup | sun melts between bread

snow powders the streets | lakes and ponds want to freeze | over the winter

a thaw of no consequence | temperatures soar | fools only humans

momentary lapses | become a void | of confusion 

will she forget | everything even her name | and no one to blame

some days your heart breaks | you cry and little one asks | are you happy now?

women who birth new nations | come together | no hesitation

holidays | overdone indulgences | continue to bloom

roasted chile poblano | smokes up the kitchen | our food has memories

we pray for the brave | who have no earthly fear | entering spirit world

you can not get through | life without any scars | your spirit lines

 Copyright © Odilia Galván Rodríguez. All Rights Reserved

July Senryū ~ 2012

July Senryū

to say I'm leaving | when destination's unknown | takes lots of courage

paintbrushes bloom | in a prairie kissing sky | on fire

latch onto words | that lie crumpled in corners | raise them from the dead

a day of mourning | for all those that were taken | for all that seems lost

no greater loss | a mother losing a child | our worst nightmare

we want to belong | acknowledged and loved | even in our solitude

rubber bullets then | become lead piercing thick skin | death by lethal hate

they appointed stones | imbued them with their power | to represent them

if time stands still | and it's not the end of days | then what follows?

her larkspur a deep blue sea | a feast for the eyes | a tide of July

oh blackberry moon | of middle summer | bless us with full blooms 

borders | lines drawn in sand and in words | cuts that leave deep scars 

las fronteras | líneas dibujadas en la arena y en palabras | cortes que dejan cicatrices profundas

sometimes trying | too hard to win that brass ring | better to just live

meditating | on those things that can be changed | what love gives rise to

life's emotions | and the stillness of no | attachments

our elder's memories | remind us to remember | to pass them along

words have the power | to sink or save a nation | use with care

blood type required | truly strong and unafraid | for a love mission ♥

everyone's land | is to be respected | is owned by no one

people are not fooled | they vote with their hearts and then | the lie becomes truth

we come to the drum | humbled for we know beauty | we crave the power

c/s

June Senryū ~ 2012

thoughts rushing rivers | illusive as butterflies | defy capture

words simmer under | suffering in silence | while waiting to heal

those distant cousins | stars that beam down through night clouds | telling us they're home

when money is speech | poor people must raise their voices | to be heard

she forgets | everything that just happened | all is forgotten

my father you're loved | no time or space changes heart's | mind over matters ♥

so shifty shadowed | luck a trick of light | it's all in the perception

mixture of light | rain seeds and earth birthing | new life possibilities

water is a jewel | when it is all gone | when the faucets have gone dry | 

we panic in its absence | scurrying like little ants

love your life | give thanks for all that blesses you | even the smallest gifts

her iceberg heart thawed | to lakes icy cold and blue | edged in lupine

her hands made of stars | her smile brightest sunshine | her skirt swaying tides

water lifeblood of the people | birthright of earth's children

to dissolve past hurts | a thousand hugs and much love | the will to let go

a thin line of red | peaks out from behind the clouds | births this day's sunrise

my mother's face | in the mirror amazes | me gazing at her

oh rose moon | a time for picking strawberries | fine like red wine

© Odilia Galván Rodríguez