~feathers from the muse's wings~

December Senryū

2012-01-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

thought she was in love | in that way she'd sworn never | again ~ drowning

te quiero como | la luna quiere la tierra | el sol radiante

a living creature | fire's voice of scream and howl | roars with its own wind

like a human voice | piercing the darkest nights | Chet Baker's trumpet

she longs for moon baths | only tiny sighs of breeze | on blanket warm nights

we are never sure | of moments we are given | to last forever

seeds of forever | live in parts of the present | time is not a line

obedience | feels like a trap of childhood | control of the self

trying to break free | of our parent's straight jackets | their constant voices

swaddle in tight our | baby blankets cover with | mother's messages

spiderweb of stars | our maps to chart the future | stars light the shadows

repelling the world | like throwing off mother's love | a maze of rejection

life lessons repeat | when we refuse to take them | in stride and balance

bright sun of the soul | burns and splits in a fit of time | never knows its end

red rimmed rock echoes | out from the deepest canyons | in your own soft voice

other blood lettings | sticky tamarind colored | bad ending's tattoos

when all our dreaming ceases | are we awake | or dead to the world

black, red, yellow, white | the colors of our peoples | sacred directions

aching with regret | those distant summer days full | of what might have been

beauty of poppies | bloodroot and celadine | to lull us to sleep

there are those who come | to do good in the world | then leave early

their words were flowers | bloomed from the lips of love | prayers sent skyward

changes in the wind | to adjust be pliable | bend like the bamboo

she enters and leaves | quiet as an assassin | with part of your soul

our hearts, our children | if we're lucky let us in | to love them always

snow blooms on sidewalks | appearing as if it weren't | just summer

a treasure trove | bright stars and moonlight | of sea shells gleaming

mechanical minds | no biological spark | interface fails

blushing cactus bloom | a once a year affair | opened to a New Year

where's the hope? | just coping don't count for much | we must move forward

love is stronger | more than any medicine | it can cure the world

lights flicker and die | while winds rip wild at the night | branches whip free

November Senryū

2011-12-02T14:22:00.001-08:00

November Senryū

wars so far from home | their casualties wear death masks | the truth buried deep

in fine white mist | fog creeped up the hillsides | cold, a thin blanket

words bite and strangle | a tangle of tongues turned | knots hard to untie

there is nothing black | about today, if you just stay | away from the lies

food cooked with big love | those aromas that remind | tastes that can't compare

fusion |

color and sound |

rounding out atmosphere |

so dear to me the taste of new |

music

shadows gather | for winter's blanket covers | in gray rainy days

we give thanks all days | for our people's survival | that we are still here

this dream called life | no way to awaken from | a sometime nightmare

sometimes haunted | those precious given moments | indelible past

invisible ties | that bind us all together | across this planet

yearning the long road | a return home to no place | she dreams the river

a golden angel | greets the masses moving | along the boulevard

midnight mariachis | meet us upon arrival | D.F. never sleeps

bella Oaxaca | flor de las naciones | casa de todos

desire | such a weak word to describe | a famished mouth

child's shadow follows | it's sleep walking body | thinking it's awake

Oaxaca's foothills | this rich red earth's sentinels | surround the morning

poems ©Odilia Galván Rodríguez, 2011

September and October Senryū

2011-12-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

October Senryū

beautiful and brown | nation of people who stand | proud to be alive

summer's flowers swim | in a pool of fall | their colors ever hopeful

wind carries the taste | of sweet promise on her lips | praying steadily

millions dispossessed | plastic dreams beyond our means | sold to the highest bidder

she wants to be paid | for painting dreams on paper | folded into cranes

roots of oppression | when not acknowledged | strangle flowering struggles

Know your history - decolonize Wall Street!

because we stand | on their shoulders looking out | a new day is coming

pure white lilies | lie about their nature | having yellow hearts

sunshine on the edge | burns off the dredged memories | mired in should'ves

the place of knowing | is oftentimes filled with doubt | about the journey

you were not a dream | flesh and blood mixed with fire | the wind blew away

Summer's melted into Fall | daylight shrinks further | shadows bring spirits

her heart a flower | opening to the sweetness | life a sacred gift

her prickly pear heart | loved you and lost | crushed margarita

my mind tips over | into dreams and other worlds | sleep eludes morning

five miles to ride | one more day of spinning | into the purple sky

down watery streets | lights reflect their living souls | spirits scissor kick

la sirena | siren of the seven seas | underwater queen

she’s a heart bleeding | a wounded bird since you left | one drop at a time

la luna luna | quienes ojos consuma | con su belleza ~

the moon, moon | whose eyes does she consume | with her beauty ~

young man, old man - thee | look, look, what do you see? | people, people living ~

September Senryū

missing tomorrows | that never came and yesterdays | waiting to be born

his shattered sky | a million blue splinters | azure butterflies

golden harvest moon | pregnant abundance | wanes into the equinox

gray light is burning | off hillsides holding the Bay | we pray for better days

what minds forget | our young hearts remember | tender as new shoots

stared in disbelief | indelible images | saying, we did this

the pool of sorrow | is too deep to swim in long | burst out of the blues

counting blessings | best belief in the now | calming turbulence

Summer is Falling | humming birds fly backwards | bejeweled hearts flutter

to breathe easy | without the stress of confined | spaces and minds open

middle children | though tucked snugly in-between | sometimes the most alone

she is all of this | calm sunny days | the rain and deadly winds stirring

beautiful unions | opposites that fit like puzzle's | pieces of dreams

one never knows | the *whole* truth is slippery | but the sun shines through

poems ©Odilia Galván Rodríguez, 2011

August Senryu

2011-11-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

July Senryū

2011-08-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

June Senryū 2011

2011-07-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

May Senryū 2011

2011-06-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

May Senryū 2011

the pain of your passing now | lives in the clearest of blues

little black widow | your clan and I had a pact | you in your corners /

April Senryū

2011-05-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

✿

April Senryū 2011

day at the beach | she seeks sand solace | a balance of sun and breeze

no time for Royal weddings | while people die | in dirty wars |

or starve to death | all that money spent for show

full of sun | a day for ceremony | people smile brightly

terracotta dreams | a desert vessel full | of pure crystalline rain

indelible | that tattoo of you on me | indigo

chiles poblanos | roasted on a hot comal | smoke out the house green

tonight after scorched day cools | there'll be rajas con crema

sidewalk skillets | sun shines down it's merciless | smile of bleached white bite

indigo birds sing | new flowers into being | love into the world

decisions of heart | not reasoned with ones head | must be felt inward

predestined to bloom | her road was not too rocky | when she stayed on path

Milky Way vision | starfish in deepest sky sea | cloudy waves dancing

all roads lead homeward | a bowl of sky filled with stars | maps, our heads and hearts

desecrate no more | the bones of our ancestors | buried in red earth

if we united | what a force we could be | for justice and peace ♥

nuclear power | unclean for eternity | equals death not light

a delicate map | indelible indigo | on butterfly wings

no one stops Pink Moon | she grows ripe mirroring us | as seasons flow past

grackle cantata | early morning car alarms | summoning the sun

canto un tango | sueño bailar contigo | en las sombras

I sing a tango | and dream of dancing with you | in the shadows

stars shine through pin holes | comfort in the mesh of dreams | night's velvet fabric

sun seared sidewalks | bones bleached similarly | desirous of dusk

hammock dreams | up in the air feeling grounded | bare feet on smooth tiles

ancient books of fate | helped reveal destinies | remedy bad fortune

estranged arrangements | some distances can heal hearts | letting it all go

milky bathwater | dye tracing a path of death | this ocean once life

thunder beings ring | indigo sky in the arbor | waiting to dance

this is not water | burning, or a mushroom cloud... | it is a beautiful rose |

trying to make sense | of all the madness

flurry fever dreams | to right wrongs of centuries | when chickens come home

with Spring comes sorrow | borrowed from Winter's storms | that lingered too long

wheel of the world turns | what is coming has been cast | a day in and out

- Pulchritude - (beauty)

2011-05-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

⁃ Pulchritude (beauty) ⁃

• translucent
⁃ the cobalt night
• poppy's orange
• caught in river's
⁃ reflection
• stars rushing
• sonorously over
• ancestor's bones,
• those rocks
• smooth for their song

• while in cities
• barren horizons
• of urban misery
• a people tattooed
• with the scourge
• of daily life
• the hate of haves
• for those have nots

• no beauty?
• in constant
• asphalt
• though humans
• adaptable
• to surroundings
• find the occasional
• grandeur

• those rogue flowers
• deviant in color
• but stronger
• bursting forth
• in garbage heaps
• or up through
• shimmering
• summer sidewalks

• neo-code talkers
• read the codices
• dispute tales of
• the Rapture's
• empty
• end-of-the-world scenarios
• our world has and
⁃ will continue
• to transmute

• seizing
• tabloid tidbits
• people's fear
• of loss
• masticated
• and spit out
• as seeds
• of new hope

© Odilia Galván Rodríguez

National Poetry Month ~ Write a Poem a Day for 30! Poems 7-11

2011-04-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Poem 7 - A tribute to sun

morning
sun shoos off clouds
no room for shade or rains
cool air ribbons slip in slyly
surprise

sun rays

Poem 8 ~ grief

deep grief
sadness, a lake
place swampy with tendrils
a specific coordinate
you touch

Poem 9 ~ downfall

great roads
left in ruin
while thieves fan dancing
to tunes of billions pillfered while
poor - wait

Poem 10 ~ Power of Earth

we knelt
in your fields yet
we were not your slaves
we knew earth's power at the root
and prayed

Poem 11 ~ Sin Pistas (Clueless)

She leaves
Him a new kiss
under rumpled pillows ~
faeries leave no clues to future
questions

National Poetry Month ~ Write a Poem a Day for 30!

2011-04-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here are my Poems 1-6! If you haven't taken up the NaPoWriMo challenge there is still time to catch up.

Poem 1 ~ The Women In My Life

the women in my life
are forces of nature

with words, paint and drums
they know how to run out the liars

they are poets, musicians, painters
dancers, singers and drummers

activists

bringing the world more life
through their vibrant colors

their melodies and music
their words and dances

their medicine

chances are you've seen them
on stages, or scaffolding and maybe

even street corners with signs
talkin about injustice, about peace

or how they don't believe in hate
its great how they envision

the world a better place
for the whole human race

the women in my life
are my muses of future

Poem 2 ~ Ruby Slippers

trying to ride

the tides of reality

as presented by this material world

that has no hold on it

but merely presents a plausible view

it's nice to know that this is not it,

that there is something else that lives

on the edge of this technologic world

chock full of strip malls and strip clubs-

doesn't every new movie show one -

women taking off their clothes for money

or out of boredom,

or to show a truth not told

it gets old this wanting

to see what's behind

door number one or the iron curtain

or is it the great computer

the greatest wizard

of the Outer Zone that still lurks

waiting for us to ask

the right riddle to his answer and

Dorothys everywhere wake

with that urge to click their

ruby heels together

to go who knows where

but we are not in Kansas anymore and

more than Toto know this

though many piss on the knowledge of that and

continue to be contented

with their Iphones and Ipads instead

of realizing that the world as we've known it

IS really coming to and end

it's okay, the r/evolution really won't be televised

or even tweeted

whatever that means

who knows,

we thought we did

we were wrong

now we only know we are not buying the bullshit

of being happy with the latest toy

we are merely waiting for a sign and

we look for them daily

in purple skies and unusual weather patterns -

that have become more normal than not

We await 2012 and hope

it is not the letdown of Y2K

Hooray!

did we forget that farce fast? ...

alas, we forget how gullible we are,

just waiting for a sign

of a new beginning or ending

we could start ourselves.

ruby slippers

Poem 3 ~ Destiny

embracing your destiny

should be painless

as morning being birthed

through the aperture

of consecutive indigo

nights that pass through

the sieve of sky and amber

stars rolling on low boil

it is not a TV drama

or the nightly done rightly

news though it may be stranger

than any writ down fiction

because most modern day

humans act so hastily

yes, so often times stupidly

thinking tomorrows won't

catch up to them in an eye-

blink and disaster has struck

people wail and weep but keep on

doing the same unquestioning

things over and over again

just like our sunrise blooms

into another day

we expect to live just fine but

A Nation can't sleep knowing

that Japan is going down and

no one in power ever said

let's stop the obvious threat

while daily we spend billions

on war

more people are dying

from tech-no-logic insanity

can't we help fix this now

In California we swim

the same sea that washes up

thousands of miles away

from the radiated shores

just off of Fukushima and

our nuclear power plants

San Onofre and Diablo Canyon

- the Saint and Devil twins -

sit waiting on the fault line

for a destruction sure and

all we hear is tongue wagging

the same lies of yesteryear

it will never happen here...

fukushima #3 blacksmoke

Poem 4 ~ A blessing of blue corn

she plucks twelve kernels

of purple-blue corn from its husk

to have a future divined for her

she is nervous about the past

anxious for a future cast, yet

she is trying to decide

her path which seems to crash

down around her whenever she thinks

she knows all the answers

From each Direction

she asks for guidance

then enters inside and

opens herself up thirsting

for possibilities

wondering what will be foretold

in which direction

she will ultimately go

Blue Corn

Poem 5 ~ Going Home

She's says she's going

home? her friend asks

because she's a gypsy and

spends time in many places

it only takes a beat

for her to form a response

home is not a place...

certainly not a house

with a collected life inside

even if they are beautiful

things, carefully selected

over lifetimes

she knows, most of her

worldly goods

have been given, sacrificed

or thrown to the four winds

home is people

who love her

when she's there or when

she's just a spark of memory

those whose heart beats

are syncopated with hers

locked in this back and forth

dance called a life

The Gypsy Woman

Poem 6 ~ Being A Border

I've been here all of my life

on the edge of this or that

a bridge between my people

crossing people

come to me

to enter more worlds

than I can even fathom

I am is a border

something of a fence sitter

except in my case I am not neutral

I take both sides, I am from and for

both sides, yes

I live the in-betwixt and in-between

I am the center and the balance

I see good and bad

at every turn

at every crossroads

and every crossing is a ritual

what do you offer to enter?

seven shiny dimes to the mother

of all mothers, of the salty waters

or nine pennies to the wind whisperer

the keeper of the last door we enter...

I've been here all of my life and

all I want to do is cross that line

myself, want to pass the torch

having been now totally scorched

by this playing at blind justice

is there really such a thing?

I think not.

someone always has to win

and someone loses

even if I know the secret

that losing you win

still, that's because I'm

a different kind of thinker

having the luxury or curse

of being from the middle

living on that fine line

between this or that

here or there

it's a fact

being a border is no fun

you have to let some in

and keep some out

and then all those

convoluted routes

people take to get there --

even when they know in their heart

it's not for them, and

they should've stayed put

they figure that out later

sometimes when it's too damn late

but wait, why'd I let them in

if it wasn't for them?

oh yes, because it was a lesson...

lofty this job of mediator

border deity

job seems too big

too pretentious

somehow playing god

when all I am is an idea

I am a border
a door
a hoarder of hopes
of injustices
tucked inside promises
of new lives,
lives really not new or better
simply different
I am a border
a line
a big lie.

"Wall of Crosses ..."

The Big Poetry Giveaway!

2011-04-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Big Poetry Giveaway! 2011

Kelli Russell Agodon started this project where poetry bloggers get together and give away poetry books for National Poetry Month and in the spirit of the "give away" and poetry I decided to participate.

How this works:

I'm giving away two books. If you want to win these books, please leave a comment on this post with a link back to your blog/website OR leave your email address (if you don't have a blog/website). The giveaway runs from now until April 30. On May 1, 2, or 3, I will be randomly drawing one name from the list of people who commented and that person will be the winner! I will mail two poetry books to you for free!

Here are the two books I'm giving away, "Migratory Birds: New and Noted Poems," my first full-length collection of poetry, and Joy Harjo's wonderful collection, "In Mad Love and War."

A little note about myself: I identify as poet/activist and educator. In my "day jobs" I've literally worked in many fields, from farm worker to labor organizer, cultural worker/teacher, Human Resources director to editor. I've been writing since my early teens and can say in all honesty that my favorite "work" has been facilitating creative writing workshops for people of all ages. I believe that we all came to this earth with a purpose and it is our responsibility to honor ourselves and our ancestors by being the best we can be at all we endeavor to do.

Good luck!

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

BIG POETRY GIVEAWAY!

Link to the List of Participating Blogs...

And the guidelines on how to participate further, via Kelli's site ~ Book of Kells ~

"The goal is to share our favorite poets with others as well as to visit different blogs and see who others are reading. There is also a benefit for those who participate as it will bring people to your blog and share your work and/or the work of a favorite poet with them."

MY POETRY FOR FEBRUARY ~ NATIONAL HAIKU WRITING MONTH ~

2011-03-02T18:33:00.001-08:00

random 'ryū

2010-10-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

random 'ryū

another
 nine, today's number 
a fine day to race away 
to find another

More for G

you are here always 
in our minds and these hearts~ 
we never forget

For Gail

your name powerful 
an invocation to fly 
full force to the winds 

goodbye

in another time 
it is tomorrow today 
you fly freely home 

blessings for a friend

a wish and a prayer 
to bless her on her way home 
fond remembrances 

snake

discretely creeping 
winding expertly from trees 
he's silent, this noose

on losing a friend

today her heart breaks 
her friend gone to ancestors  
on the wings of wind

unlucky in love

locks her poor heart shut 
against love entanglements 
she has no such luck

old age

aching for a change 
races against clocks, tick tock 
waiting for no one

el merengue

icing on the cake 
sugar raking across teeth 
crunchy to the taste

sweet treats

licking this and that 
drat the calories of all 
make mine sugar free

Oaxaca landslides

their dark drenched mountains 
decided just to nosedive 
lost their insides out

adjustments

clickity clacking  
down the back stairs of his spine 
this chiropractor

shoes

offbeat, his heart stops~
dancing every time he sees  
her red soled black heels

bend

meandering stream 
winds at certain frequencies 
a bend less traveled

sounds

oh small arm of sea 
indigo channel cutoff 
leading to a sound

my lover's name

sublime syllables 
his  name sliding over tongue 
tattooed to my soul

between love and the other

the thin line between~
what you love and what you don't 
is a fine silk thread

hurricane season in Havana

cobalt water drenched 
the corners of 23rd 
wings of seven seas

dreamstates 

obsidian eyes 
watch from the night's other side 
waiting for answers

May Queen

a rose in her crown   
of thorns, bloomed crimson instead; 
opened up her mind

rainy day

the rainstorm sits still 
waiting on the horizon 
thunder beings dance

nostalgia

I'm wishing you here  
knowing you are there, hearing 
the same whistles blow

Senryū Soliloquy 3

2010-10-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Senryū Soliloquy 3

level

flattened to the floor
bulldozer mentality
knocked out in one blow

fissure

mama magma breaks
surface splits to release her
molten red blood boils

sway

be blown to and fro
rhythmically challenged salvo~
prairie grass dancers

parched

licked lips, cracked and split
while dreaming an oasis
drop skipped the mirage

boot

jackboots a message
cruelty in their dark hardness
of country well-heeled

brambles

oh prickly dog rose
scrambling to cling and brush~
blackberries bleeding

arch

line lifted eyebrows
perplexing convexity
a span of bird wings

difficult

laborious sun
a puzzling stargazer
orbiting cosmos

eternity

an eternity
galaxy's deep nebulae
in the endless dark

gravity

his body attracts
her center, a mighty force |
field of Spring greens gone

wind chimes

North wind helps sound rhymes
in glass chimes outside my door
your name in my ear

sublime

rhymes that do not try
but cry and ring anyway
that sail purple skies

wax

a honeycomb home
so full of love and sunshine
yellow and sticky

weather

her temperature
below zero but rises
sizes up the scene

28

Senryū Soliloquy 2

2010-09-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Senryū Soliloquy 2

loop and twist my soul
open mesh, silken touch
a rush to ecstasy

sunflower

beekeeper's delight
the right kind of buzz magnet|
cheers even the dark

midst

in the middle of
us ~ one strong and sturdy voice
broke ~ moved all to tears

return

refolded edges
obsidian recurrence
collided time lines

faithful

until death do us
part or lightening strikes us down|
in for the long hall

reverse

a downshift in gears
contemplating beginnings
counter clockwise moves

willow

wind pollinated
flower of a single sex
downy and catlike

bend

flexibility
swaying silkily like grass ~
a green river's turn

brine

a salty bubble
saturated with ocean
impregnated brew

raincloud

shadows stretched to gray
billowing felt fingers crowd
out sunny skies

well

the diviner's rod
a spiral of energy
dowsing to find rain

run

a good time while... ~ was
had by all, now it's 'bout Fall
new book bags, school shoes

gold

like diamonds create
greed sickness in certain men
yellow fever kills

Manifesting the Muse - Ten Week Creative Writing Workshop - SF Bay Area

2010-08-27T00:19:00.000-07:00

Senryū Soliloquy 1

2010-08-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

Senryū Soliloquy 1

updraft

riding drafty
currents of air shifting down
and round this old house

bucket

a receptacle
for rain that's collectible|
to wash raven hair

sponge

drinking it all in
soaking the sun's bleeding rays |
sopping up the shine

ferocious

precocious their love
growly with fangs and claws
their deepest indigo

risk

risking a tryst
with an old love that surfaced
sailing on fantasy

ablaze

brick house all ablaze
razed to the ground ~ done in
by a book of matches

marble

lost her marbles
soon after knuckling down
went home with one cat's eye

jellyfish

jiggly neon nymphs
extraterrestrial visitors
monitoring seas

rice

rivers of pudding
food for the hungry masses
mighty white delight

sight

twice sided vision
valuable and varied
the ways ~ that we see

26

more 'ku train senryu _ _ _.

2010-08-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

more 'ku train senryu _ _ _.

lichen

lush emerald green
nature's carpet covering
a fitting blanket

trickle

fine leak of water
a most prosperous omen
dry desert manna

bend

in the river
an elbow crook, curved cradle
jade water heaven

look

the unseen sheen shines
when the under uncovered
layers peel away

canyon

red burnished slices~
merciless winds gorging them |
those moonlit ravines

beach

lovers entwined
stretched out on a deserted shore
waiting for world's end

saxophone

nothing better blues
played on shiny saxophones
the sound track of life

bask

to bathe in his sun
the one he can't see
to swim in its brilliant light

more 'ku train senryu _ _ _

2010-08-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

more 'ku train senryu _ _ _

zebra

rife with stripes zigging
and zagging this funny horse
gracious and stunning

who

a lofty question
a suggestion of import
and we are all one

soften

like butter melting
in frosting on a warm cake
my anger dissolves

recluse

brown and yes, scary
this spider weaves its own world
not to be messed with

curved

lines I fit into
you a spoon scooping me
rounded out like a drum

stroll

we stroll down memories
gone lost just yesterday
wishing on time-machines

abundance

redundant redux
cupboards of emergency |
canned food for winter

stem

main line ~ family
the glue of a sinking ship |
where we wind our clock

sting

the ringing of ears
when tongues wag negatively
a sting to good hearts

ginger(ly)

lacy-fingered round
a baby's head held cradled
in a cup of hope

shake

all earth's children quaked
then mother's rumbling bowels
shook them off like fleas

ache

to ache, or to bless
your fellow path followers
life's pain or power

bang

in the beginning
the big collide divided
another theory

more 'ku train senryu _ _ ....

2010-08-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

more 'ku train senryu _ _ ....

drift

swept away on air
in the blueness of water
currents of future

blend

harmonious
a desired combination ~
our soulful mix

raspberries

reddish-pink drupelets
whose juice colors crimson mouths
edible jewels

slip

in search of something
there on tips of tongues ~
concealed in sudden gestures

delicate

flower petal wings
tiny baby wrapped in veils
of the other side

waterfall

cascade of brilliance
a full mind spilling over
earth's cool jade water

happy

in the company
of good spirits smiling on
from seventh heaven

dim

the light when sun dies
how future looks in a rear view
mirrored fractals

sideways

along the axis
no ruffling of feathers
obliquely shadowed

buffet

rough winds buffeted
the ocean tries eating sand
swirls up the coastline

slither

slippin' and slidin'
slippery snake writhin'
stealthily up the path

burst

at the seams with joy
jump up at the newborn sun
run the streets happy

ledge

rocks beneath green seas
near shores adoring water
azure with pleasure

shark

shark man swam the seas
searching for his salvation
he was a new breed

half-man half fierce great white shark
seeking peace with all creatures

fine

pair of silk stockings
hung seductively over |
a fine screen cover

more 'ku train senryu _ _ ...

2010-08-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

more 'ku train senryu _ _ ...

butte

lava pinnacles
cap rock rough enough to stand
steady these landforms

tempest

skies opened their eyes
let loose a good hard cry
winds joined in - howling

frog song

nocturnal sirens
waking the neighborhood
wailing songs of love

sparrow

old world weaver bird
o waxbill ~ o java
knit a world in a nest

cloudburst

a sudden shock of rain
storm violently crashing
water down on earth

curiosity

what killed the cat
being in others' business
while not being asked

loyalty

we pledge allegiance
to flags that have stopped flying
o'er reality

more 'ku train senryu _ _ ..

2010-08-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

more 'ku train senryu _ _ ..

train

things were not the same
she boarded a slow train south
trying to find home

drift

consciousness shifted
to peripheral vision
momentarily

current

dipped in stardust
daredevils catch downdrafts
flown on the wind's wings

peacock

all window dressing
the male peafowls strut their stuff
females, they aren't fools

hedge

she shielded herself
from cold, the know it all's
right into loneliness

temper

tempered by heat
walking mean streets for a living
softened by real love

jewelry [box]

pearl moons from the sea
trinkets spilling over in waves
her remembrances

soften

sun the color of butter
melting through curtains
contagious the smiles

magnanimity

heart like a whorehouse
always open and inviting
a grand soul

luck(y)

a penny or kiss
shamrocks never fail
to turn us hopeful

hover

levitate or loiter
but don't stand too close to me
hang around awhile

fabric

those red stars in galaxies
far beyond rainbows
are my ancestors

more 'ku train senryu _ _.

2010-08-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

more 'ku train senryu _ _ .

(✿◕‿◕)

compromise

meet me halfway
one side touches the other
in a fond embrace

submerged

descended below
her surface polished perfect
the unseen grimace

burrow

rich red-brown the earth
hollowed out by sweet sound
flowers are born singing

farther

end of the clearing
furthest reaches of your town
turns blind in some eyes

flaw

diamonds in the raw
flaws thawing into shining
light through thick forest

fulfilled

thrilled with outcomes
cups half-full to overflowing
everything's roses

cardioid

we are two hearts
circling like red-tailed hawks
wanting love for life

orange

leathery-leaved evergreen
trees bear sunny fruits
filled with ambrosia

lull

breathing room
a space to be alone
pausing for clarity

chill

chilled to the marrow
bone cold and ready to fly
south winds wintering

heard

listening past tense
hearing beyond the obvious
between the lines

drip

en una gota
reflejos de corazon
el mundo gira

in a drop
shadowed heart's reflection
a world turning

spring [water]

a fount bursts brilliant
crystalline jeweled water
heady to give life

ruddy

ruddy morning light
earth throwing off night's blanket
birthing a new day

old wooden fence - really?

faded, forgotten
fallen into disrepair
the line between us

Poem 4 - Parallel Universes

2010-04-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

the rouge of camellias
their cinnamon scented faces
upturned towards the light
our synchronous vibrations
are reflected in this wholeness
where we are but a stitch
in the fine mesh of creation’s web

in a parallel universe
you and I have danced
this back and forth before
we have taken our love far
in all directions
as far as it will go
at once and never

again is often better
because by then the rough edges
of youth have been burnished
bright and hence are smoothed
like the crags of ancient
mountains ground down
by four winds

the plague of humanness is
striving for someone else's
idea of perfection
or never seeing the need
to become better

humans
every day
our faces turned
towards the light

© Odilia Galván Rodríguez, 2010