~feathers from the muse's wings~

Thursday, October 02, 2014

September Senryū 2014

Thursday, September 04, 2014

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

Friday, August 08, 2014

Life, A Dream

✿

she has no idea
about being gone
or staying still
she knows she loves
flowers in bloom
real or imagined
what is life
if not a dream
you wake from
only to enter
another one
and so on
going from dream
to dream until
one solitary day
you become part
of the unseen and
dream with those
who've gone on
those on this side
dream you too
in the warp and weft
that is life's tapestry

July Senryū 2014

July Senryū 2014

for love and peace

✿

if it were up to her | there would be no more war | no more suffering

no more obsessions | those writings about being | in love with love

she fell in love | with him at first sight | he's been her muse ever since

we belong to the land | we are her bounty | no-thing to war over

a time loop tangle | sticky as fly paper | charmed forever

she does simple things | laundry and roasting chiles | gets her mind off war |

for awhile she doesn't think | of families being murdered

the worst of the barriers | is that of the mind | think for yourself

no real words left | to say how I feel about war | except NO MORE

The death toll rises, people are dying - genocide!

she feels him | missing her in away that hurts | both now and then

ella lo siente (a el) | extrañado la en esa manera que duele | entonces y ahora

we must not lose heart | everyday we pray and struggle | for peace

across the world | war rages and people die | all call cease fire

I love love | people think that's old fashioned | I know it's new

moon bled red | decried earth's blood shed | her children at constant war

the way of the world | cannot be heartless | we must teach our children well

simply knowing | he would do anything | for her is enough

we say no to war | not in our names do you kill | no more forever

misses the someones | who were something in her life | all deserving love

thunder moon rising | in your light we shine smiling | glad to be alive

he the blurry edge | an unrequited love | of full moons in July

personal greed | is fear based but not on need | rooted in evil

she cannot explain | rituals rote and quiet | ever changing same

she reinvents herself | at the core fire | she will not be moved

where is compassion | children must flee death squads | gone the way of true love

independence | does not rely on others | giving you freedom

independence | can not be celebrated | when people are not free

so quick to throw | women under the bus | someone else's rights

change yourself | in a flutter the world changes |just a bit

en los escombros | de su amor aprende | como amarse

verdure her love | growing lush and wide | across the world

eyes wide open | yet she dreams through her life | wishing she could love |

that one special one | that is lost to her

with pockets full of shells | she leaves the seashore| flowers in her heart

up against thick walls | that keep hate and fear inside | that deter no-thing

she lets the nighthawks | fly away with her troubles | not obscure the moon

at the cross roads | she stands in the center |finding her way

shadow walker | between this world and the next | weaving connections

she lives with a piece of sea | deep inside her blues| maneuvers the rocks

Palestinian flags flutter at Israel's border with Gaza

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Split This Rock: Split This Rock Call for an End to the Attacks on ...

Split This Rock: Split This Rock Call for an End to the Attacks on ...: As an organization whose very existence was born from the global Poets Against the War movement, we at Split This Rock are grieved and outr...

Sunday, July 13, 2014

June Senryū 2014

✿

for summer and for love

one place at a time | she stands center | the place of beginnings

the yard is full | of weeds and overgrown trees | everyday tomorrow

how can you love | so many beautiful people | and still feel alone

misses her daughters | ones she never birthed | those made by blood and spirit

little white dog barks | hello goodbye don’t leave me | a familiar voice

we miss the rain’s voice | joined with winds sweet symphony | we pray your return

our city has voice | sings in tires on pavement | sirens in distance

a voice that hurts | your ears cannot hear beauty | in caterwauling

a map of dreams | thirteen moons on turtle’s back | day count twenty-eight

so vulnerable | without her padding | she seeks out protection

whales tell of water | song lines of deepest ocean | great great grandmother

webbed spidery | her skin doesn’t seem hers | not her body

the road home windy | surprising in its beauty | cherished past places

waiting to go | wishing to stay where you are | beam me over

people too quick | to judge one another | but claim to believe in peace

grow into a man | we need your strength as equals | no more little boy

journeys full circle | remembering when we were | so young in spirit

everyday challenge | walk in the ways of ancestors | survive bravely

easy to take care | of others loved and cherished | not so much ourselves

don't be downed by life | beauty is all around us | despite all the waste

listen messages | of all our relatives | sent from the beyond

in every stem and flower | every leaf of every tree

aging can be hard | you said not for the weak | I give thanks for life

voices never leave | my head is filled with wisdom | yours and ancestors

hope you're dancin' | this honey moon’s just for you | your first not here birthday

move past the fear | of embracing what you know | deep in your heart

the blood of my blood | does not yet exist | may never be

life's flow slowed down | a month that seemed like a year | healing emotions

she of earth and spice | lights one hundred candles | lends her voice for peace

her little girl songs | overflow with happiness | waterfall lyrics

total denial | is in command of the ship | she's gone off course

Monday, June 02, 2014

May Senryū 2014

✿

dreams don’t have borders | they soar on the wings of hope | we make destiny

only poetry | or high speech fit to say | your god-given name

offer love and light | for your beautiful spirit | will shine forever

Rest in power.

support warriors | who fight with their hearts and minds | for future

poisons hide | in our water air and food | we reclaim our earth

her gray hair marks her | an elder of the people | wisdom highlights

teach in the garden | plants have so much to say | about nature ways

symbols of pride | knowing where you come from | lead you where you must go

never forget | those brave enough to stand | for future generations

converted boxcars | farmworker homes in long lines | straight as row crops

what is a wild woman | if not one who knows | her nature is free

we have the right | to know what we put into | our bodies are our own

you don’t have | to believe in possessing | nothing posses you

the truth is | that many don’t want to know | ignorance kills slow

the nature of things | alive on this planet | is their power

vision yourself strong | just like mountains live long | it’s not your time to go

healing ourselves | when everything says | you are getting too old |

not needed anymore | is an act ofcourage

not so strong | as standing ones that see far | our days fly swiftly by |

we must not fear ending | it’s another beginning

we pray for all those | assailed by illness | struck down by life’s lightning

teach compassion | to the littlest beings | they crave learning

this train carries me | back to one of my heart homes | this train...

muddy Misi-ziibi | trees imbued with voices | along the Tear Trail

what can cold rain teach | some days it's better to stay | indoors where it's warm

there's more to see | just beyond the horizon | rain gives way to sunshine

ancient seas flowed here | chiseled away life's layers | left their distinct marks

everyday love | our mother's never forget | we are sown to their souls

twilight between trees | feathery cypress sway | birds go off to sleep

roots travel deep | their feet deeply entrenched | in rich red earth

flat fertile prairies | small towns surround lands bounty | must bloom sunshine seeds

our sun is shining | somewhere on the blue planet | go there in your mind

your mind on Springtime | trees and flowers blooming | with so much beauty

all our relations | imbued with living power | the colors of life

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

March Senryū 2014

✿

still confused just talk | you want to know the facts ask | I will tell you all

regret won’t let go | like you got what you deserve | loss and confusion

find inner courage | channel it outward for change | fire burns deep down

mezcalito | habla en tu oído | susurra hondo |

tu nombre en el aire | un pájaro que vuela

cloud-walker whispers | to four winds about trances | she finds herself in |

satiable dreaming tricks her | out on the ledge once again

rainy and cold | today her smile becomes the sun | tomorrow's flowers

strong light inside | hearts that pay love forward | a beacon for rainy days

he was her country | but now she is an exile | looking for new roots

one who lost | someone they loved then found | past catches up to present

what you question | may be a good thing or not | where you go is key

moving slow slow-mo | bullets returned every gun | holstered forever | every spirit enters life | again there can be sweet peace

For Lo ॐ

your bright eyes good luck | charms a bunch of cilantro | into a pot we cook good | never forget those we love | together beautiful heart

wildblue agave | people hear your sound wisdom | in a jaguar cup

come up to my house | la casa azul so blue | without you I'm lost

does he think of her | when voices of trains call him | down those lonely tracks | or in the full light of once | upon a time a blue moon

laying down track | to forget yesterdays | going towards tomorrows

coatl querido | your beautiful shed skin | to wear with pride

arms and legs flailing | whipping up spirals of love | twist and shout

false Spring blanketed | frosty by late-winter snows | as daffodils dance

veils of other worlds | blessing us with their presence | sheer skirts of angels

magic a woman | luminescent | with boundless incantations |

her core sunk deep in the earth | from there she rises like fire

fresh day sun comes out | to play with people of earth | smiling ✿

didn't know how to act | now that they were back being | twenty at sixty

when we become hollow bones | spirit enters | makes itself at home |

we speak words of home | the place we were before here | and shall return once more

many masks worn | to slog through black/white worlds | where grey matters most

mouths of mine open | snap at ridiculousness | on how people act |

without the slightest thinking | new provocateurs

moving a house | doesn't fold in on itself | like a circus tent

in the orchard | bones percolate messages | that reaches beyond

scary how you push | people away with your past | a master at it

starry skies the eyes | of my ancestars smiling | keep watch over me

she rolls poetry | incantations into love | to help change the world

bella Havana | I miss you | hasta siempre

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Magia

✿

magic

a woman

luminescent

with boundless incantations

her core sunk deep in earth

from there she rises ~ fire

February Senryū 2014

✿

coal crows descended | on a mass of carrion | plantain green cornfield

copper colored dogs | so small but fierce in their charge | stand proud and loyal

her spine a taut wire | not for sale at any cost | upright convictions

mango tree budding | flowers fragrant and spicy | visions of chutney

four-year-old visits | her tropical winter dreams | says it’s time to dance

released | for lack of evidence | by the music

the potato line | stretched the entire block | no one pulled a knife

lettuce treasure hunt | at the agro-mercado | people cheered the chard

today shelves are bare | our money no good here | we wait on tomorrow

mice dance in cupboards | claiming them as their own home | possession 9/10ths

songs for grandmothers | gone long into the ether | flowery

today more dancing | a rumba’s on the corner | everyone shakes it

adopted country | island that lives lost in time | for a new orphan

flowering hearts | bloom love as if it were spring | solidarity

love such a small word | indescribable feelings | to birth new flowers

wee ones eyeing | birds nest in her mango tree | fruit that’s a mirage

more potato lines | husband asks what’s the fuss | people want mashed and fried

do the angels know | you are not just visiting | we miss you

hope you’re dancing | to all those songs you loved | tango in the light

embrace your sorrow | all you truly feel | it’s yours to swim in

ritual bath | take them into river’s mouth | to be spit out clean

crowned with your name | a new life is born to live | from here to ever

drums tell truth-tales | mid-day presentations | new initiates

sixteen teeth thrown down | hit the mat in formation | their bitter-sweet sound

summer breezes | in mid-winter seem so wrong | a wrap around shawl

salt and sorrow | jewels that unbind us from death | help new ghosts move on

air scented with mint | basil peppery pungent | herbs spread their magic

lattice of twigs | small dove’s palace | a delicate home

thorn trees grow to form | impenetrable fortress | the end of the world

she wakes slowly | from a tangle of sleep | in the book of life

rain blesses them | their ceremony complete | onto a new day

January Senryū ~ 2014

✿

scaling high borders | walls that still exist within | now break them all down

at times you live | in a thick shell you've built | without knowing

in order to live | one must dream impossible | dreams of love and life

crows still caw at her | perched in judgment on pine trees | she laughs and gives thanks |

their warnings acknowledged | takes the wild ride anyway

beautiful maguey | its milky sap | transforms to honey |

nectar of the Gods | and four hundred rabbits

hermosa maguey | su savia lechosa | transforma en miel |

néctar de los Dioses | y cuatrocientos conejos

cold questions from our past | long gone answers telegraphed | who's listening

remembering | we did matter even then | when we thought small |

were never good enough | for the big world around us

Somos de Maíz

nací del maíz | con cada grano de mi | distinto como |

gotas de agua santa | no transgénico

born from maíz | every grain of me | unique |

like drops of scared water | not transgenic

a circle dance | life's brilliant ceremony | in a jingle-dress

what keys of memory | unlock life long mysteries | a shot in the dark

sun absorbs each sigh | troubles washed away by tides | beautiful our earth

Standing people | watchover underground creeks | they speak the same language

albino spiders | sleep sound in succulents | until morning showers

they thought if they pressed | buttons displaying their dis- | approval it stops |

but no streets must be taken | people must lift their voices

moon illusionist | shapeshifts under cloud cover | dreams will be sweet |

tonight she will timetravel | to the other side of night

the seer sees | invisible visible | worlds that await us

stopper of time | my messenger-guide | lead me to happiness |

offer me direction | always compassionate

oracle speaks through | shiny teeth thrown down on mats | rat a tat comes truth

he studies the wind | whistling through piñon trees | colors appear |

in the moonlight he forgets | trouble's left for tomorrow

our big clunky skates | helped us fly down summer streets | fit with the right key

her religion | guardian of all life's web | what lives relatives |

in a world so abandoned | open your heart let love shine

sometimes hope breaks apart | in heartache's boil/hiss | wishing to turn clocks |

back to beginnings not these | endings happier

La Calaca rides | down fogged-over streets searching | see who will join him

we live on razors | edge of highwires we balance | trying not to fall

thirteen shades of blue | your face in every hue | she prays in indigo

she time travels back | doesn't want to relive past | we'll talk tomorrow

foreign landscape | manmade volcanoes smolder | at their molten core |

dangerous poison silent | a David and Goliath

dreams are made of life | real or imagined | an elegant time machine

daily she struggles | for positivity | grasps at life's beauty |

in devastation's wake | never saying yes to death

in shades of violet | her spirit danced in shadows | sure of nothing

ghost town's gone down | in seeds of man's destruction | planted as progress

from a whispering basket | spirit-saints murmured | truths from the other side

first day | of this appointed New Year | another marker |

to continue to do right | fight the goodfight for justice