I’ve come to this place
to ease my mind
to smile at the chatter of birds
to feel a tender breeze
and listen to the silence
of tall trees
it’s as if this place
is here just for me
to soothe my spirit
ease my mind
and free my thoughts
but today I struggle to
find comfort here
worry fills my head
a jumble of concern
and cluttered words
as I sit disheartened
the warmth of the sun
peeks through the treetops
and in the far off distance
I hear a train whistle
now watching leaves flutter and squirrels chasing…
in the morning mist
I feel as if the crushing weight
of a massive stone
has been lifted from my chest
reaching into the pockets of my mind
I search for every last
bit of that stone’s rubble
with thoughts nimble as fingers
I pluck each embedded shard from the seams
and fling them wide
now wholly unbound
I step out of the fog
exposing my true self
today is resurrection day
Thanks to The POM for this month-long series of prompts for National Poetry Month 2021. Prompt four is “resurrection.”
You called me a fool
for hoping and wishing.
You called me a fool
for believing.
You called me a fool
because I had dreams
that today would be better
than yesterday
and tomorrow would be better
than today.
You called me a fool
because you didn’t know.
You didn’t know my dreams
for a better today
had come true.
And I’ll tell you this
about tomorrow,
it’s going to be better, too.
Thanks to The POM, this is my first piece in this month-long series of prompts for National Poetry Month 2021.
“If we do not watch the sunrise or sunset, then shall we go to the summit?”
Shall we look down, down, down
into Halema’uma’u?
The gaping crater that is
Pele’s heart and home?
Shall we take an offering?
A crown of ti leaves
to set upon her head?
Papaya to place in her hands?
A lei of plumeria to rest
around her shoulders?
Will we smell the sweet scent
of gifts already given?
Orchid, gardenia, pikake, and ginger?
Will we see beautiful hibiscus
scattered about?
A carpet of yellow, orange, and red
gently laid at her feet?
Will her pungent…
“Abuelita, why is my halo blue?” Selena asked. Her grandmother kissed the top of her head, “Look up at the sky, Lena. It is halo blue. Azul is the color of the ocean and the sky. It represents imagination, sensitivity, and confidence. You are all of those things, mija. Halos are a reflection of the person to whom they are attached.”
When she was little, Selena’s halo sometimes slipped as her father pushed her on the swing at the park. But then she could feel it straighten when he told her how brave she was to swing so high even…