poems & stories, book available on Amazon
I thought
If I could teach him a word or two
Something familiar
Something I once knew
From the words my family used to say
Or a lullaby
That takes fears away
If I could mimic HOME
Within a house
I could root myself
With my spouse
And create a new language
Not entirely his
Neither my own
Ours
In a new home
I was hoping for an alien invasion
Maybe then
The question of
“Where are you from? “
Could be easier answered
And I could say
“Earth”
And no one would follow with
“But where were you born”
I was hoping for an alien invasion
So I could no longer be called an alien
Such as my luck
No alien cared to make my hopes true
And I still look at you
Unable to speak
The language I grew up
Speaking
For hours, in lines we waited
Feet bare
Flies and mosquitoes hung in the air
The afternoon sun could not be kind
As it left no shelter for us to hide
Until we got our sacks of flour and some rice
Enough to fill our bellies and dampen our cries
She remembered a sky glowing red
Noises in her head
Figures that screamed
Others that whispered
And some that bled
She remembered joyful wonder
Cries of surrender
Stars that wept
Nights when she slept
On a warm earth
Nothing else beneath
No sheets no shields
She remembered before she was this magnificent tree
She was a woman
Wondering what she’ll be
When this earth turns to dust
Oh where did my pieces go
Those that held me together
Time rubbed them apart
And so did the weather
Where did my body go
Curious I long to know
How a man melts like snow
How this beauty withers
Yet his soul
Manages to stay whole
No matter the struggle
Silent was the crowd
After moments of obstreperous cheering
As they learned that her death
Was not in the script
Was not in the play
But they couldn’t help staring
I craved it
The thing I hated the most
The dry hot air
The lack of clouds
The mosquitoes in my hair
I craved what I once wished to escape
Now living in a land where no palm trees grow
Where no one knows
How to say my name
Alien
Became I
Refusing to cry
Over my fortunes
Did you ever think to bring a second candle?
The optimist in you did not think the darkness will last
The wax dripping off of its handle
As it burns much too fast
But I who’s seen darkness, I who was birthed away from light
I hoard all the candles
Fearing that they might
Not be enough
I think I lost my way
Trying to figure out a new destination
I think I lost my purpose
Following this automatic navigation
Image credit: https://pin.it/2ZuHAWh
A tattoo
Of a name I used to know
Of hot summers
And dancing in the snow
A tattoo of what I long to remember
Lines on my hands
That remind me of December
And July
Reasons why
I wrote it once
A life time ago
Secrets I long to know
