~feathers from the muse's wings~

Saturday, September 15, 2012

With Wings To Fly

With Wings To Fly

A woman

with wings

to fly

she does not know

why

she can not

seem to

extend them

to take to air

all around

seems stagnant

she fails

in all heaviness

to remember

when she

enabled another

was clipped

to the point

she forgot her name

was shrouded

left with only

a thin line of mesh

her eyes to see

only him

she was grounded

but finally one day

an eagle flew over

freefalling

calling

Quetzalli

is that really you

what's happened

what’s happened

what's become of you

your beautiful wings shorn

restricted flight

throw off those chains

set yourself free

take to the air

no more despair

in small steps

she began

to forgive herself

to remember who she was

not who she'd become

everyday more feathers grew

first in little nubs then in sprouts

as if by magic

her wings bloomed anew

her muscles retrained

after many crash landings and falls

Quetzalli took to air

stronger in every way

never to be grounded

again

Vuelo Imposible

note: Quetzalli

Pronunciation

IPA: /ketsalli/

Etymology

quetza "to stand up" + -lli

Noun

quetzalli
A quetzal feather. Something precious.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

August Senryū ~ 2012

August Senryū

once in a blue moon | moon grows so round she falls | kisses the earth hard

once in a blue moon | people see their reflection | in watery eyes

once in a blue moon | those we love are far from home | they feel us with them

once in a blue moon | we write about love | from the depths of our true hearts

stay grounded to earth | envisioning beauty | then learn to walk right

we hear the rabbits | call from the fields harvest | eating green lettuce

the buttery moon | swells to the size of summer | pregnant with plenty

green corn moon | maiden of new harvest | calls to the autumn

spears and arrows | some cut with precision | others with beauty

the depths of zero | call from the throats of flowers | from were all things bloom

love is a salve | it heals wounds deeper than canyons | smooths jagged edges

there's no scarcity of love | its renewable | why then jealousy

remembering | one of the best days of life | you being born ♥

sacred places | cathedrals marking home lands | birthed by mother earth

inundated | in a sea of paperwork | she floats to the top

miracles happen | believe it and you'll see | your life's the beginning

lives rearranged | estrangement at close distance | still linked at the heart

Purple on turquoise | yoga mat a great place | to sing with a cicada

a morning without | sunshine and rain's false promise | envelops the day

an immense boulder | grief overshadows the light | blame a losing game

we will continue | to be 'other' and proudly | we know our worth

know silence | retreat into its depths | listen

mind realignment | ability to see | beyond the edges

fruits of summer bloom | a harvest of gold goodness | jewels in my bowl

a night to reclaim | streets from police the hoodlums | abstract differences

a dart to the heart | stark its poison entering | shadows of sorrow

a child inside | an adult's body sometimes | cries for affection

the worst sorcery | jealousy and envy | followed by gossip

lilly sword beauty | emblem in a life of strife | until victory

mandala moon | time when all things may ripen | rising from the mist

gone home to the light | brilliant and shiny at birth | journey worth taking

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Arrows

Arrows

her words arrows

straight and to the point

sometimes piercing hearts

her words are arrows

not meant to wound or offend

aimed at seeking the truth

her words sharpened shafts

shot into the dark to shed

light rather than heat

arrows can be words

lined up in people's defense

aimed at injustice

words can be empty

fake like rubber bullets

that still seek to maim

words can kill movements

of people trying to heal

centuries of lies

words words word arrows

a way to say basta ya!

loosed are fireworks

Friday, August 03, 2012

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

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

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

¡Ban This!

¡Ban This!

disgust

lurks in corners

of your mouths when you look

at our children who you don’t want

to grow

into people

strong in their soul’s searching ~

for those truths you twist into lies

our strength

is in knowing

that we were not born yours

to do with us as you will, no

we’re free

we, descendants

of Teotihuacán ~

of Toltecs, of Chichén Itzá,

Aztlán

the place you fear

we might want to reclaim ~

our ancestral home, occupied

by you

who erase truths

that can not be silenced

by boxing up or burning books ~

words live

we remember

them, our love, our stories ~

history, cannot be erased

not banned

because their life,

their truths and beauty beat

brightly in our yoyolo, hearts

always

always ~

we a people

of hope and of struggle

we never give up, being us

living

living.

So ban our books

put out a gag order ~

yes, they charred our codices in

fire

burned our tongues mute

but never our minds ~ to

envision the future, your fall

from grace

This poem appears in ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature

(Broken Sword Publication LLC 2012) edited by Santino Rivera. Tlazo!