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

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

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

¡Ban This!

¡Ban This!

disgust

lurks in corners

of your mouths when you look

at our children who you don’t want

to grow

to grow

into people

strong in their soul’s searching ~

for those truths you twist into lies

our strength

our strength

is in knowing

that we were not born yours

to do with us as you will, no

we’re free

we’re free

we, descendants

of Teotihuacán ~

of Toltecs, of Chichén Itzá,

Aztlán

Aztlán

the place you fear

we might want to reclaim ~

our ancestral home, occupied

by you

by you

who erase truths

that can not be silenced

by boxing up or burning books ~

words live

words live

we remember

them, our love, our stories ~

history, cannot be erased

not banned

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

fire

burned our tongues mute

but never our minds ~ to

envision the future, your fall

from grace

© Odilia Galván Rodríguez

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

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

Writer's Café

Becoming Visible

✿

Becoming Visible

Odilia Galván Rodríguez

no longer invisible

you wish to banish us

back in time

to our quiet place

stooped in fields

in your gardens

kitchens loud

clattered and steam filled

laundry rooms 

quietly nurturing 

you and yours like our own

children

lucky if left with family

less so if latchkeyed 

lonely and locked in

scared to make a sound

lest neighbors call

authorities

living in fear

of offending 

of being visible

time and struggle

changed that game

people learned their rights 

to fight for what is just

to come out into the light

c/s