footsteps left behind

i hope, at minimum, the flower and tree
that i've sat before and underneath,
the wind whose whispers of wisdom 
has kept me company in my solitude, 
the running spring and its residents 

hoping the aves that observe me from above
while i reside in this mundane space on this 
sojourn, they will have witnessed a spirit
sated with the verve of life

for i cherish the air that i breathe,
footsteps that i am leaving behind,
songs that i am singing and words
both spoken and written from a heart
never full but always giving

fire and storms

devastation of storms and floods appear 
then come the hell of fires and words are
said from a tongue of sharpen blades not for 
the sake of pain for loss or sorrow but for the sake
of their own tomorrow 

the flower does not blame the wind
for its loss of petals, the rain for
their wilting, the sun for being parched
with too much heat or for the night
stealing the day

in selfishness and greed there is
no good that comes but a sadness
and lament avails for the souls departed
and all who is left are the lonely and  
the cold hearted

foot pritnts

walking along in a slight powder of snow
i look behind and notice no foot prints
is it the brisk cold wind that has blown
away my steps or is it that i may not 
be leaving my foot prints behind?

will my existence in this short sojourn
be remembered let alone noticed or will
the million tiny breaths i've taken, the million
words  i've spoken or written, the many hands
i've touched, will anyone recall that i was here? 

if nothing else, my hope and wish is that
someone will reflect upon my sharing of
the tiniest, if not insignificant, moments
spent sharing tears and joys, my giving of
the pieces of my heart, the love

Nature's transition

yellow and russet leaves blanket the still verdant blades of grass
they dance with a shimmy and sparkle from the dew as the morning
sun rises now farther away than in a Summer's day

the large stoma and petals once yellow now a dark brown lay down at
a once vibrant sunflower's feet to recycle with nutrimental loam not to die but to garner Winter's sleep

soon a cold northern Winter wind shall blow and all will be covered
with a blanket of snow whilst houses align in the dawning of a spewing from chimneys a dark grey and white smoke  

be here, now

…so i sit here quiet and still and
in a soft and gentle whisper of my mind
i say to my yesterday 'be gone for i am
you, now' and to my tomorrow i say
'i await you but not now'

for i am the breath of which i breathe, now
i hear the silence and feel the presence
of all that is present around me which allows
me to become my surroundings and escape
the self, becoming selfless

at this moment

i wish to be a flower or a tree
feel the sun braze my petals and 
the wind ripple through my leaves

to be the mountain kissing the sky
the water that reflects Nature's attire
without care and still to dare

if i could escape but for a moment
the angst of life's travails without
the death of my soul

wander into a euphoric nothingness
and still maintain love's heart and soul
in a moment, i would do so

Reflection of a smile

i saw a smile on a daisy and on

a sunflower, today, when then the

sun touched them with its fingertips

their smiles were cast upon their feet

and i watched the sparkle of water on a

running stream as silhouettes danced

from the maple and oak standing on its

banks admiring their reflection unabashedly

a curious robin flies o’er and rests

on a limb of the oak to see what they’re

admiring and it too sees its reflection

and begins to whistle with glee

as i sat down i heard the whisper of

the wind say to me…’if you look into the

stream your reflection will be carried to

the river’s end  onto the sea when then the

moon at night will share its smile in perpetuity’

asking, of Love

do you come from my heart

or do you reside in my soul,

for sometimes i feel you in

the depths of my gut and

inside every teardrop trickling

down my cheeks to my toes

if you are omnipresent do you  

feel pain, angst and sadness,

understand the hurtful absence

in the departure of love ones

and do you battle with the

evilness that is called hate

my ‘being’ senses that the

spirit of the universe is much

grander than even my imaginings,

that it encompasses that which i

know and that which i don’t, a

balance of all

and so if i can ask a favor, Love;

will you be my friend, my mentor,

be the conduit to understanding

from whence i came and from

whilst my journey will take me,

will you hold my hand?

remember my song

when i depart from this Earthly sojourn

will you remember me for the words i wrote

those which i spoke and that which i did,

for those who i chose to walk beside that

shared a common tone and some that didn’t,

the hugs and embraces, the gift of friendship?

shall my legacy withstand the scrutiny of your

memory of me whilst we became disheartened

with each other’s unfulfilled expectations, then

yielding angered words flung at each other

or will you remember the hearty laughs we

shared, the quiet tears and subtle smiles?

will you remember the music that i played on

my guitar, the songs i sang for me and for you,

the dances we danced, the holding of hands when

we walked along the river’s bend and sandy beeches

between our toes until the crimson Sun laid down 
to rest in the horizon, the Moon then smiled at us?

i know that wherever my soul resides in its next

abode and if by chance it maintains the mundane

spirit of memory, it will remember all this but

most of all it will recall that we bathed each other

in Love. soon our souls will be as one, again

marellano

thought i was healing

for a moment i thought i was healing

healing from the vitriol spewed by haters

i thought mine eyes would be given a respite

from the impoverishment they have witnessed

not just by the homeless and the hungry, but also

children left alone by heartless humans not just by

separation like caged animals but so too from bombs

though my tears have waned my heart still wanders

about lonely and in pain from continued uncaring

humans who only want more of this and that,

caring little for those who have much less

if anything at all and most unfortunate

that their souls are sad and lonely

and hearts are empty of Love

my flower friend

there’s this flower that stares at me

when i walk outside to greet the day

Its golden pedals and a crimson smile

stands at attention in its Spring attire

i sit in front of it without words spoken,

quiet and still, we both stare at each other

in reflection until dusk veils o’er our faces

and then the moon, at us, glances

when summer warms our dress and we

awaken, one glistening in dew the other

in sweat, both still awaken with aspirations

to praise the day under the sun’s array

so then when the cool of Autumn arrives

it asks of us to change into our Fall display

we embrace its request and welcome the

season and change into the color of russet

soon the cool winds will blow and in the

cold, my friend’s golden pedals will drop

to lay down and sleep and so too my soul

will take a reprieve in the Winter’s gray  

and i shall, in the quiet of my room, sit

before the mirror in reflection with arms

folded like golden pedals, cheeks on my

face turned crimson from Winter’s cold,

will become, within, my friend the flower

heart versus soul

sometimes i feel the strife within

as too much of a struggle

theirs an anguish of disconcerting

and of disenchantment

i try to see good but mine eyes at this

moment can only see a fog or of nebulous

at best squelching my inspiration and

desire to find joy

not self pity but a recognition of my

occasional descending state of mind

into a space without light, unable to feel

my way even with arms stretched out

so empty is that sense when wanting love’s

presence and it seems to be beyond my grasp

when once i thought I saw its glow, my heart

followed the light only to find a void

i think the soul, not being of this world,

does not understand this heart’s mundane

grief and pain and asks the question……….

‘you wish for me to leave or stay another day?’

my flower friend

there’s this flower that stares at me

when i walk outside to greet the day

Its golden pedals and a crimson smile

stands at attention in its Spring attire

i sit in front of it without words spoken,

quiet and still, we both stare at each other

in reflection until dusk veils o’er our faces

and then the moon, at us, glances

when summer warms our dress and we

awaken, one glistening in dew the other

in sweat, both still awaken with aspirations

to praise the day under the sun’s array

so then when the cool of Autumn arrives

it asks of us to change into our Fall display

we embrace its request and welcome the

season and change into the color of russet

soon the cool winds will blow and in the

cold, my friend’s golden pedals will drop

to lay down and sleep and so too my soul

will take a reprieve in the Winter’s gray  

and i shall, in the quiet of my room, sit

before the mirror in reflection with arms

folded like golden pedals, cheeks on my

face turned crimson from Winter’s cold,

will become, within, my friend the flower

'if forever is tomorrow'

if forever comes to mean…just until tomorrow

then let us hold each other tight under night’s

light, not to sleep but to Love until the last

minute of our last hour, 

the visit of forever sleep

oh sleep, you have abandoned me

you only visit on occasion and when

you do, it’s but for a moment or two

i realize that i make little room for you

with thoughts of abandoned children

whose life on earth is hell, scared of

waking to explosions that have already

taken brothers, sisters, mom and dad

oh sleep, come and visit just for a while

so that my body will regain its strength

and my heart and soul its rest

soon the ache in my heart for the hungry

who feel abandoned by humankind

shall subside and the pain of sorrow

for those discarded to the wayside because

they’ve been deemed a burden shall wane

i wish to dream of oceans and streams, of

Mountains and trees, of fauna skirting about

joyfully amidst the waft of flora in a gentle breeze

i shall cease from allowing the words of a tyrant

engulfing my mindset, affronting my every step of

my waking hours with the oppression of his imposing

dictates that have duped a flock of followers who

care little about the hearts and minds of others

oh sleep, i shall make room for you to visit soon

once the love of my life feels comforted in that

her health will be rejuvenated to where she

and i shall walk hand in hand along the sandy

beach, morning to dusk, where we’ll then lay down

together for that long forever restful sleep

love, you left my heart

i ask my heart

…why comes your pain

…you make mine eyes tear

…my breath is quicken

…my soul despair?

…pangs from waning love

…seeing lonely and uncaring

…the air is poisoned not of soot

…the chime of hope disappeared?

i ask from Love

…where have you gone

…is there no one to share

…has your spirit left my heart

…are you no longer one?

in the reveries of days

   the wind blows briskly by

       i watch the blackbirds fly

          the white cottons kiss the sky

             my dreams ask the question why

and so, bathed in sadness, i wait