poetry

poetry

Saanich Blessing

Posted on

Saanich Blessing

May the waters be smooth before your curragh.
May the firm warm bud of springtime
always live in your heart.
May you and yours breathe easy and sleep sound
all of your starry nights.
May you feel the love flowing from one and all to you
even when you be all alone.
May the sun’s warmth be a reminder
of the healing power of positive energy.
May the Easter lily show you
how to thaw even the deepest snows.
And when the next fiery sunset arrives
may the slender otter and
the tranquil mergansers sigh and say
all is well
for another day.

poetry

closing up shop

Posted on

closing up shop

first they lock away the luxury goods –
alpaca fine knits
the real jewelry
and fancy watches –
things that might be worth smashing for

then they put up whatever barriers
they can afford –
a web of packing tape at Sunglass Hut
metal grille at Hugo Boss
clear plastic sheeting pieced together with tape at Coolbox
cerrado

the restaurants serve up whatever’s left –
3 dishes at the TGI Fridays:
babyback ribs
chicken-fried chicken
or Bucket of Bones,
all with mashed potatoes only

but these privations are so trivial
up here in the departures lounge
placidly sailing above the ticket counter chaos
out of sight far below
jammed with people who woke this morning
to learn the window for leaving had shut
each trying desperately to pry it open
just wide enough to slip through

poetry

inertia

Posted on

inertia

the urge to not force things to change
wanting to wait and see
favoring the distasteful known
over the cold metallic panicked taste
of uncertainty

willing the ball to roll itself on up the hill
deciding not to decide

poetry

erasing the Incas

Posted on

erasing the Incas

stone by painstaking stone
they dismantled the temples
then piled churches
onto the foundations

poetry

love in a time of uncertainty

Posted on

love in a time of uncertainty

when death hovers on the porch
and everything that usually matters
stands still
love means someone you can
show your fear
and speak its name out loud
someone who wants to
hold your hand anyway
someone who says
in all the swirl of unknown to-bes
look into my eyes
like when we’re dancing
maintaining our equilibrium
while the rest of the world dissolves
into a blur of bright color
and rhythmic noise
we’ll hold each other upright
smiling through the spin

poetry

Latin vs. Norteamérica

Posted on

Latin vs. Norteamérica

in Perú
plazas are a spot of shade and color
refreshing water tossed into air
benches to rest, watch the world, meet a friend
flowers to remind you the whole world isn’t barren
and a promise of salvation at one end

in America
plazas are strip malls

poetry

Tacna-Puno bus

Posted on

Tacna-Puno bus

little abuelita
in her thin grey braids
tied together at the tips
sensible shoes and thick nude hose
pink flowered dress
and bougainvillea-tinted cardigan
with a blue pocketed smock over top
brown lined face
and mostly toothless smile
you chatter on
and instead of according you
great respect as expected
folks mostly ignore you

why?

maybe they are crazy ravings
or maybe they were taught
not to speak to “Indians”

poetry

waves 2020

Posted on

waves 2020

the waves never cared about politics
conservative, liberal –
they would break the same way
with the same force
travel the same endless distance
across open ocean

but now the waves know
things are not the same
and there’s little they can do –
it’s so hard for them
to make little wet hands
to X out change

instead, the waves quietly whisper
vote for us

poetry

Lauca

Posted on

Lauca

en verano
wiry fuzzy young llamas and vicuñas
kick their long camel-colored limbs
across the altiplano
like paper dolls with brass brad joints
their more sedate mothers stand by
all four feet gathered to a point
as if balancing on a ball
slanty-eyed supple viscachas huddle together
under peach-colored rocks out of the rain
then sprint straight up a slope
to their next natural lookout
everything goes green
and around each verdant life
there’s an even more brilliant
rough ring of moss
maybe made by fairies dancing
or, then again, maybe just a peculiar habit of its growth
which studs the hills and plains with living magic –
food for all the fuzzies

poetry

breathless, Termas de Jurasi

Posted on

breathless, Termas de Jurasi

watching how the raindrops
bounce back into the air
carrying more water with each one
how the resulting rings
spread and interfere
it takes my breath away

or maybe it’s that
we are immersed in hot springs
watching clouds rise
out of the fiery earth
or that we are up so high
all well and sparkling
even when the world is slowing down

for all those reasons
and a lifetime more
I take deep quick breaths
gazing at these three beloved faces
each one lengthening toward age
held by warm water
not worrying about what’s next