TRIOLET #1
The Arizona Queen of the Night –
She is a most mysterious flower –
The one seen dancing in the moonlight.
The Arizona Queen of the Night –
In a pale gown, appears near June's height.
Have you been lucky enough to see her –
The Arizona Queen of the Night?
She is a most mysterious flower.
TRIOLET #2
Where have all the gentlemen gone?
Worldly thoughts have led them astray –
Desiring neither love nor brawn.
Where? Have all the gentlemen gone?
Tho' my days are short and nights are long –
I hold my breath, take note and pray:
Where have all the gentlemen gone?
Worldly thoughts have led them astray.
INVISIBLE
Would you vouch for sound's sake
Wholly dependent on oxygen
After a tempestuous voice spake
After a humble tune is forgotten?
Would you swear of love in every form
Of neighborly love, a child's love
Or else render it an illusion born
Of what mere humans dreamed up
And to seek for it is a vain plight?
Would you deny that pain exists
Ebbing in and out like the tide
And heartache too, also as tenuous?
SUMMER RAIN
Listen to the raging summer rain
Mercilessly battering the ground
Bouncing like rubber balls all around.
Rain is a little miracle gained
In the desert when it comes unbound.
My head is made silent by the sound.
This sense of cleanliness will remain
Because everything has been washed down.
The corner curbs of the street have drowned!
Harder still it strikes my window pane.
A peculiar sun breaks through a cloud
Tho' the raindrops continue to pound.
Listen to the raging summer rain.
STAR OF WONDER
Star of wonder, star of power
Bluest of steel blue
It shines at the midnight hour.
More wondrous than Regulus
Its eight points burst forth
Beautiful and careless.
Calling moths to flight
The bowsprit lantern burns
Inspiring them to a new height.
It wades through the black sea.
Turn your face this way –
Shine on me, shine on me.
I AM your enthusiasm
That helps you learn a new thing.
I am your hand mirror
Beholding you on a bright morning.
I am your sandals
That caress your soft soles.
I am your prayer while you doze.
I am your blanket
Keeping you warm at night.
I am your luck that flies by day
To make sure things go right.
I am the djinni in your life
To stay near and keep you –
If only you knew.
8 HAIKU
a little frog
sits on a warm rock
busy relaxing
an ocotillo
with orange blooms –
butterflies
a stalactite gleams
black water drips
the only sound
moonlight
cool air on my skin
the blanket's smell
a white-powdered landscape
sunbeams illuminate
nothing
coyote eyes
glow behind the gate –
restless spirits
a star-speckled sky
above me –
spilt silver glitter
a November breeze
one palo verde blooms
anyway
DON'T be ashamed, baby –
It is better for thee
To have a physical blemish –
One I don't bother to notice.
Fools live by what they see.
Their loss is gain to me;
Our wedded bliss.
MANY a door, many a door
Along the complex's corridor –
A symbol meant to welcome –
That's what they're for.
Rows of doors, floor upon floor –
Sometimes a thief they lure.
Nobody asks how you've been –
They just close their door.
HEART, do I hear a beat?
I've found you in a filthy place –
Crushed by the weight of defeat –
The fire nearly stifled for days.
You'd do well to be persuaded
That a heart, even one crumpled
Like an aluminum can discarded –
Can be reshaped and recycled.
But heart, learn again to trust!
Let's walk together, shall we?
Although the task seems arduous –
You beat to our personality.
NOTHING collapsed with a swift motion –
Ruled strictly by a scepter –
It was told – Collapse, be something.
Behave like this hereafter.
Amino acids make a union
Then a DNA strand is created
Followed by rapid division –
Cell from cell is separated.
Not yet whole in of themselves –
They follow an invisible command.
One be a heart cell, another a lung cell –
The instructions demand.
Toes and fingers are formed.
Now a whole other mass
That didn't exist before
Is the toil of nine months passed.
Truth can be sought with questions
Yet the presence of a newborn's glow –
Passed over by wary glances –
To me, is proof of ex nihilo.
LOVE ME
Love me tender, love me strong.
Love me with wine and song
On a hillside all the day long.
Love me with a joke or two
With stories of people you knew.
Love me until night releases you.
Confide in me all that you fear.
Whisper words as you draw near
Words you know I long to hear.
Death, that sting, be accursed!
Love me for what life is worth
And know that I loved you first.
A STARE stabbed me –
My eyes darted – a presence
Loomed large, electrically.
A horned owl was my assailant.
A rest in a mesquite tree
Made a meeting of chance.
Through the glass door –
The dividing line of succession –
We wondered about the other
Who should have dominion.
By the talons I could discern
'Twas the owl that won.
YOU stole me from a castle
My defiant vassal.
We went butterflyback riding
Into wind that sounded like sighing.
They put us down on a hill when
We felt like walking the glen.
We sat by a river of gold
And talked as the river flowed.
I wished for rain and it came
And in its midst, we played.
Where a rainbow met the ground
The beam, we danced around.
Before it could diminish
I gave you a chocolate kiss
And ours is a fairytale romance
That, to this day, still enchants.
AMONG hills Apache red
Where damas and vaqueros
Built up a homestead
Past the mercados
And hills with a vague past
Running aside the mission
Its white walls chaste
In the glow of the noontime sun
Past a dreamy mountain range
And several places where in brief
There was a Butterfield stage –
Runs a highway through my life
And whether bathed by the sun
Or a cloud of headlight glare
It continues to function
And remain my anchor.
AMY means “friend” in French
As does “amiga” in Spanish.
Its definition is iconic
In a world that's blindly selfish.
I bear the name's premise
As insults fly without reserve
With a bead of patience
To do a favor undeserved.
But Enoch was a friend of God's.
This makes my heart still:
If I'm a friend of God's
Then my name is fulfilled.
I'M envious of the clouds
That float happily in the sun –
Changing into colorful shrouds –
Lumping from many into one.
Their most compatible friend –
The wind, admits
They beautify the high heaven.
Nebulosity permits
Travel without a passport.
They slip away on a whim
For a day's length or more
And return a denizen.
QUIET people
With bold thoughts –
Are they dangerous?
Nay –
The danger is
In being vivacious
With nothing of interest
To say.
THE sun peeked over the horizon –
Splintering the dark, extinguishing
The lowest stars one by one –
His rays outstretched as if embracing.
Like a secret whispered in the ear –
He encouraged a warm breeze –
Slowly, 'til the cold surrendered.
The flowers, in joy, raised their leaves.
Brittlebush and globe mallow
In the foothills and salt sage –
Numerous in the sandy flats below –
Comprised a faithful entourage.
All that day was a February dream.
Then the sun, in regret, lowered –
Bowed and left behind a starlit scene.
For lack of warmth, the sad flowers
Folded in their décor
And cried for an encore.
BABY BOY BLACK
Among children's graves
Shadowed by cypress trees –
Lies one birthed but unsaved.
Baby Boy Black – decrees
The stone that was laid.
Unseen by earthly eyes –
A baby, he's no longer
But a man old and wise –
Strong forever –
I prefer to surmise.
One may imagine
While gazing upon the grave
What name in heaven
The angels possibly gave
Upon entry of the kingdom.
BEES labor not in vain
For their task is plain.
Listen - how they hum
Around the myoporum.
Purple buds then show forth
Declaring their handiwork.
A DREAM is a butterfly
Fresh from the cocoon
That is realized and soon
Flutters up into the sky
Or faltering, goes astray
Is suddenly killed
While young still
And fast fades away.
STAMPS – they are a little window
That, through intuition, one may know
By inference of time or country
What lies beyond their boundary.
Peruse a beloved leader's tomb –
Native dancers frozen in costume.
See exotic creatures that yet endure
Or butterflies flaunt their pastel color.
The graceful curves of a foreign language
Speak aloud their familiar adage
As a monetary unit deceives
Yet the iconography most intrigues.
So much is outside the scalloped frame
That heavy connotations remain.
If only to wander new lands about
I could unclasp the lock and climb out.
The Arizona Queen of the Night –
She is a most mysterious flower –
The one seen dancing in the moonlight.
The Arizona Queen of the Night –
In a pale gown, appears near June's height.
Have you been lucky enough to see her –
The Arizona Queen of the Night?
She is a most mysterious flower.
TRIOLET #2
Where have all the gentlemen gone?
Worldly thoughts have led them astray –
Desiring neither love nor brawn.
Where? Have all the gentlemen gone?
Tho' my days are short and nights are long –
I hold my breath, take note and pray:
Where have all the gentlemen gone?
Worldly thoughts have led them astray.
INVISIBLE
Would you vouch for sound's sake
Wholly dependent on oxygen
After a tempestuous voice spake
After a humble tune is forgotten?
Would you swear of love in every form
Of neighborly love, a child's love
Or else render it an illusion born
Of what mere humans dreamed up
And to seek for it is a vain plight?
Would you deny that pain exists
Ebbing in and out like the tide
And heartache too, also as tenuous?
SUMMER RAIN
Listen to the raging summer rain
Mercilessly battering the ground
Bouncing like rubber balls all around.
Rain is a little miracle gained
In the desert when it comes unbound.
My head is made silent by the sound.
This sense of cleanliness will remain
Because everything has been washed down.
The corner curbs of the street have drowned!
Harder still it strikes my window pane.
A peculiar sun breaks through a cloud
Tho' the raindrops continue to pound.
Listen to the raging summer rain.
STAR OF WONDER
Star of wonder, star of power
Bluest of steel blue
It shines at the midnight hour.
More wondrous than Regulus
Its eight points burst forth
Beautiful and careless.
Calling moths to flight
The bowsprit lantern burns
Inspiring them to a new height.
It wades through the black sea.
Turn your face this way –
Shine on me, shine on me.
I AM your enthusiasm
That helps you learn a new thing.
I am your hand mirror
Beholding you on a bright morning.
I am your sandals
That caress your soft soles.
I am your prayer while you doze.
I am your blanket
Keeping you warm at night.
I am your luck that flies by day
To make sure things go right.
I am the djinni in your life
To stay near and keep you –
If only you knew.
8 HAIKU
a little frog
sits on a warm rock
busy relaxing
an ocotillo
with orange blooms –
butterflies
a stalactite gleams
black water drips
the only sound
moonlight
cool air on my skin
the blanket's smell
a white-powdered landscape
sunbeams illuminate
nothing
coyote eyes
glow behind the gate –
restless spirits
a star-speckled sky
above me –
spilt silver glitter
a November breeze
one palo verde blooms
anyway
DON'T be ashamed, baby –
It is better for thee
To have a physical blemish –
One I don't bother to notice.
Fools live by what they see.
Their loss is gain to me;
Our wedded bliss.
MANY a door, many a door
Along the complex's corridor –
A symbol meant to welcome –
That's what they're for.
Rows of doors, floor upon floor –
Sometimes a thief they lure.
Nobody asks how you've been –
They just close their door.
HEART, do I hear a beat?
I've found you in a filthy place –
Crushed by the weight of defeat –
The fire nearly stifled for days.
You'd do well to be persuaded
That a heart, even one crumpled
Like an aluminum can discarded –
Can be reshaped and recycled.
But heart, learn again to trust!
Let's walk together, shall we?
Although the task seems arduous –
You beat to our personality.
NOTHING collapsed with a swift motion –
Ruled strictly by a scepter –
It was told – Collapse, be something.
Behave like this hereafter.
Amino acids make a union
Then a DNA strand is created
Followed by rapid division –
Cell from cell is separated.
Not yet whole in of themselves –
They follow an invisible command.
One be a heart cell, another a lung cell –
The instructions demand.
Toes and fingers are formed.
Now a whole other mass
That didn't exist before
Is the toil of nine months passed.
Truth can be sought with questions
Yet the presence of a newborn's glow –
Passed over by wary glances –
To me, is proof of ex nihilo.
LOVE ME
Love me tender, love me strong.
Love me with wine and song
On a hillside all the day long.
Love me with a joke or two
With stories of people you knew.
Love me until night releases you.
Confide in me all that you fear.
Whisper words as you draw near
Words you know I long to hear.
Death, that sting, be accursed!
Love me for what life is worth
And know that I loved you first.
A STARE stabbed me –
My eyes darted – a presence
Loomed large, electrically.
A horned owl was my assailant.
A rest in a mesquite tree
Made a meeting of chance.
Through the glass door –
The dividing line of succession –
We wondered about the other
Who should have dominion.
By the talons I could discern
'Twas the owl that won.
YOU stole me from a castle
My defiant vassal.
We went butterflyback riding
Into wind that sounded like sighing.
They put us down on a hill when
We felt like walking the glen.
We sat by a river of gold
And talked as the river flowed.
I wished for rain and it came
And in its midst, we played.
Where a rainbow met the ground
The beam, we danced around.
Before it could diminish
I gave you a chocolate kiss
And ours is a fairytale romance
That, to this day, still enchants.
AMONG hills Apache red
Where damas and vaqueros
Built up a homestead
Past the mercados
And hills with a vague past
Running aside the mission
Its white walls chaste
In the glow of the noontime sun
Past a dreamy mountain range
And several places where in brief
There was a Butterfield stage –
Runs a highway through my life
And whether bathed by the sun
Or a cloud of headlight glare
It continues to function
And remain my anchor.
AMY means “friend” in French
As does “amiga” in Spanish.
Its definition is iconic
In a world that's blindly selfish.
I bear the name's premise
As insults fly without reserve
With a bead of patience
To do a favor undeserved.
But Enoch was a friend of God's.
This makes my heart still:
If I'm a friend of God's
Then my name is fulfilled.
I'M envious of the clouds
That float happily in the sun –
Changing into colorful shrouds –
Lumping from many into one.
Their most compatible friend –
The wind, admits
They beautify the high heaven.
Nebulosity permits
Travel without a passport.
They slip away on a whim
For a day's length or more
And return a denizen.
QUIET people
With bold thoughts –
Are they dangerous?
Nay –
The danger is
In being vivacious
With nothing of interest
To say.
THE sun peeked over the horizon –
Splintering the dark, extinguishing
The lowest stars one by one –
His rays outstretched as if embracing.
Like a secret whispered in the ear –
He encouraged a warm breeze –
Slowly, 'til the cold surrendered.
The flowers, in joy, raised their leaves.
Brittlebush and globe mallow
In the foothills and salt sage –
Numerous in the sandy flats below –
Comprised a faithful entourage.
All that day was a February dream.
Then the sun, in regret, lowered –
Bowed and left behind a starlit scene.
For lack of warmth, the sad flowers
Folded in their décor
And cried for an encore.
BABY BOY BLACK
Among children's graves
Shadowed by cypress trees –
Lies one birthed but unsaved.
Baby Boy Black – decrees
The stone that was laid.
Unseen by earthly eyes –
A baby, he's no longer
But a man old and wise –
Strong forever –
I prefer to surmise.
One may imagine
While gazing upon the grave
What name in heaven
The angels possibly gave
Upon entry of the kingdom.
BEES labor not in vain
For their task is plain.
Listen - how they hum
Around the myoporum.
Purple buds then show forth
Declaring their handiwork.
A DREAM is a butterfly
Fresh from the cocoon
That is realized and soon
Flutters up into the sky
Or faltering, goes astray
Is suddenly killed
While young still
And fast fades away.
STAMPS – they are a little window
That, through intuition, one may know
By inference of time or country
What lies beyond their boundary.
Peruse a beloved leader's tomb –
Native dancers frozen in costume.
See exotic creatures that yet endure
Or butterflies flaunt their pastel color.
The graceful curves of a foreign language
Speak aloud their familiar adage
As a monetary unit deceives
Yet the iconography most intrigues.
So much is outside the scalloped frame
That heavy connotations remain.
If only to wander new lands about
I could unclasp the lock and climb out.