Hot Day 4-21-09

Sunshine on my face
Like a million spicy kisses or
Like wasabi on my sushi
Hitting lips and stinging.
Shoulders turning pinkish brown
And heated breasts in swimsuits.
This hot day is made better
When I sink into the pool-
Like a fish returning home.

Your legs dangle in the water
Chlorine keeps it clear enough
Like doctored toxic liquid.
Not blue but the sun hits it
And creates rippling of light color.
Splashes make tiny waves
And they’re tickling my ribs.
I am not all the way in-
It's cold against my belly
An awakening of my senses.

Kids jumping in lines, holding hands,
No fear of the brisk deeper water.
Screams and shrieks fill the air,
Wish it would be still but there’s
No stopping the commotion.
I know it's the joy of the sun
On this day, this time of year,
Heat on an almost-summer day.

Women in rows on lounge chairs
Like newborn chicks waiting for worms.
Silent fights over the best angle
Keep their conversation distant.
Sunning shoulders, cheeks and tops
Of feet and thighs, lying on towels
Like floating on magic carpets.
They hope for something magic while
Their kids are dancing happy.

Hot Day, I in the water wading.
You on the side of the pool smiling.
And we soak up midday sun.

I Bleed Red 4-27-09

I bleed red
red roses
They fall from my knee,
the palm of my hand.
Red roses fall in bunches
hit the ground
and I pluck them up.
Gather them into a bouquet
and hand them to you.
A gift, red roses,
life flowing out of me,
pooling, cooling instantly.
Beautiful but dead immediately.
Forced to leave quickly,
as skin opens up like
a tiny crack,
a doorway to my heart.
Here are your red roses,
I hope you enjoy them
before they crumble.

Noon Sun

They lay on the driveway,
Unafraid of big black rubber and metal.
They arch their backs in perfect-formed yoga poses.
They sun themselves with no concern
For skin cancer or wrinkles.
Eat crawling insects and
Chomp wings with invisible teeth.
Their eyes closed tight and tails gone limp.
Not a concern in the world but
The passing of an unexpected cloud.
These tiny majestic rough skinned lizards,
Their moment of peace a dream of mine.

I Fly 4-20-09

I am black.
Not thought of in high regard.
Sometimes even hated.
I am the subject of scary movies and
Nightmares of one kind or another.
I scavenge and search for a place
In a world full of color and beauty.
My face is not so different
Yet it is not noticed against
A backdrop of sky.
You look up and see me
Turn your face away as if
Disgusted by my presence.
I do not ask anything more of you
Than any other yet
You seem so annoyed.
Why is this
Such a sad state of life for me?
Why care what you think?
If only you could see the beauty underneath
My feathers.
I am a crow, I fly
and you walk.

Fear of Heights 4-11-09

My fear of heights is revealed
While hiking with my daughter
As I watch her footsteps
More carefully than my own.
Listen to her shoes against
Gravel, sand, grass, and mud.
Streams crossed carelessly
Like a balance beam, while I
Hold my breath and pray for
Weighted steps.
She pounds her walking stick in play,
I am grateful it will scare away
Hidden critters.
My inner thoughts disguised by
Approving words and praise at
How easily she makes the climb.
This fearless adventurer child,
With mother behind her
Arms and body bracing
Just in case.

Winds

In the beginning I think.
The winds bring melancholy
Twist my thoughts and turn them into a paper airplane
They are sailing away and I grab the tail.
I am forced to ride but
Find I am not afraid.
The wind does not look back
The wind knows where it is going.
It has never been wrong
Though man's dreams have gotten in its way.
I let the wind lift me and am enlightened
Light as a feather floating amongst the clouds
Riding the blueprints carried by the wind.

Stained Glass Window 4-4-09

Reflection in a stained glass window
Distorted, broken into fragments
And made beautiful with color and light.
Image of an angel and a baby

With my eyes and hands and arms mixed in.
Do you see me through the glass?
Can you see me looking at myself-

From the other side of the window?
I see you staring up at me
And the angel and the baby, we
Are as one for just this minute.
We are beautiful mixed together.
Do not separate the colors,
Do not pull us apart.
My reflection in the stained glass window
Is who I see myself to be-
Angel, child, and woman bathed in light.

My Strength

I see my strength in my daughter’s eyes.
Reflected so clearly when I hold her tight.
She knows she is safe within arm’s reach,
And looks to me in the moments I teach.

I see my strength when I walk through a new door
Never stop moving forward or wanting more.
I find strength in a desire to learn new things
And the freedom that knowledge and wisdom can bring.

I see my strength in the soles of my shoes,
Worn down from running and miles of use.
I run to release whatever is inside
And I run to feel the power in my stride.

I see my strength in the friends that I keep
And the happiness and love that sings us to sleep.
We find strength in laughing with an open heart
And it stays with us always, even where we’re apart.

I see my strength in the love I pour out
For the strongest of men know that’s what life is about.
Love is the strongest of ties, we all know
And the truth about love is that it makes us glow.

Haikus

One bead of sweat drips.
He wipes it away and sighs-
Wish we had A.C.


Glancing through the blinds,
Spider on the other side--
Seems without a web.


Locked out of the house
I am standing here naked
Now I am in trouble.


Five small butterflies
Spin silently above me—
I am still awake.