dream of a smile

finally, i slept last night and i dreamt

that no matter which way i turned to

the faces i’d see all had smiles

 

those, that before, had tears in their eyes

the one’s that had sadness and pain

all of them had smiles

 

the bird whose wings were broken was

now mended and it flew high and sang

with other birds and they formed a choir

 

the wolf who no longer had to fear the

gun of a hunter and the dolphin not afraid

to swim without being ensnared in netting

 

i dreamt that i saw my Mamasita, now

in her heaven, singing and dancing, saying

to me ‘i’m okay, estoy bien, mi hijo’

 

and the greatest dream of them all, that

my love, my wife was cleansed of the big

‘C’ and we smiled together

 

it was nice to sleep again, nice to dream

again and when i awakened next to my love

we opened our eyes and smiled at each other 

my heart whispers

 

whispers, i hear whispers and i

listen closely but as i look around

i cannot discern from whence they

come or what they’re saying

 

i stand still and quiet, slow my breaths

i can feel my heart beating more rapid

and as iI listen more attentively, i can

now hear it beating

 

as i listen with closer attention, it is

my hearts murmuring sounds that are

the whispers and i begin to understand

what it is whispering

 

‘be passionate of what you choose to

do today, what words you say or put

on writ but whatever you choose, be

kind, say it forcefully, make your words

resounding, but above all, be truthful’

 

this is me

 

i dare not close mine eyes to sleep

for my waking may not come

not that i fear the absence of life

but i wish to breathe and laugh,

witness the sunrise and sunset

for more days to come and listen

to the songbirds, the roar of the sea

 

when i’m asked from whence and

where i came, i ask of them to listen

to the wind that whispers behind me,

look at the grass and daisies at my feet,

listen to the rustling of leaves in trees,

the howling of the wolf, the squeal of

the eagle soaring above, this is me

evil by the human hand

 

there’s a hell that has reared up from the depths

of where the flames of anguish and death reside,

the face of this demon has infested lands where

no human is insulated from its pathogenic grasp

 

of how its permeation into the human population

began we’ve yet to understand but until we do,

we must battle the insidiousness of its intent by

gathering our human resources of mind and tech

 

we must not allow for this interloper’s invasion to

wantonly assail the existence of human beings and 

degradation of our comfort and peace of mind let

alone defeat the existence of human life form

 

this demon, from whence it derived, must be found

and if by chance its inception was by the human hand,

much like the destructive nature of nuclear annihilation 

was deemed necessary to be controlled, nefarious intent

of creating these insidious pathogens must be, also

 

we, as a human life form in this mundane existence, the

proprietor of this floating rock in space, must delineate,

discern, and decide on how best to perpetuate ‘life’, our

primus responsibility, in the context of human morals and

ethics vs scientific experiments antithetical of ‘life’

 

my mention of morals and ethics has nothing to do with the

institution of ‘religion’ and conjured excuse for why life vs death,

spirit vs soul, and also in recognizing that our cognitive capacity

of the human ‘mind’ is also miniscule relative to the expanse of

knowledge in the ‘universes’, our sciences are at best, sparce

happy joy contentment

 

it is written that happiness is the goal in life

and so we search and search, gather and gather

thinking that searching and gathering things and

people, we’ll find and attain happiness

 

in our quest we do find occasional moments of joy

we embrace theses joys and recognize they are

short lived but we, if fortunate, attain many of these

moments and store them in our memory

 

as we trudge along this path of our life’s sojourn,

if happiness is yet to be found, though in our quest,

we have sated our hearts with the memories of this

journey then we become content

 

contentment is the azure of the sky, the gold of the sun,

the verdant fields, the multi-colors of wildflowers, the

tree, the eagle and the wolf, the orca and the dolphin in

the ocean’s dark blue as the moon beams kiss its waves

and waking up to all this

without you

 

like a sunflower who looks up at the morning sun

my spirit also rises to praise that i woke up today

and i shall walk amidst the daisies and the trees

holding hands with my partner, i shall kiss her on

her cheek and whisper in her ear, ‘without you,

the joy i feel today would go unfulfilled, my life

incomplete

life dance

 

life be not naïve, for death in a second will

usurp your presence if it can while awaiting

in the dark, watching to see if your light is

dimming or by chance, if in an instant, it

is switched off

 

life, take not for granted this gift bestowed,

embrace its wonder, twirl it in a dance and if

by happenstance there is another, who love’s

your spirit, take her or him by the hand and

twirl them in your dance

in between

 

in between the sun and the moon,

the light of day and the noir of night

stars glitter with dreams

 

in between the dark and the light

is the still and quiet of space where

calm and peace reside

 

in between the azure sky and the

ocean blue is a horizon where the day

rests and begins

 

in between sadness and happiness is

joy, in between hate and empathy

is love

Gracias for your company

 

On Sunday, April 25^th,  i will have

reached an age in the cusp of a human

timeline that there will be many who

may consider me elderly, but i disavow

this and reflect upon the great sequoias

that stand taller as they grow older,

i recall the grandness of mountains as

they grow larger and tall enough to

tickle the clouds and kiss the sky

 

and so, Sunday the twenty fifth, the

reference date of when i was born

into this mundane existence of earth,

i will look at my reflection in the mirror

and i shall not focus on the folds of skin

of my brow, the wrinkles under mine eyes,

and i will tell myself that these are signs

of a lucky person who, unlike many, who

lived to have seen much, felt much, has

 loved and has been told that i am loved

 

like the sequoia kissing the moon and

stars good night, and the mountain, to

the sun, waves goodnight as it lies down

 behind, i too will lay down this aging body

on Sunday night to rest and dream, so if

i awaken on the following Monday, i will

thank the spirit of eternity for giving me

one more day to prance about like the

young man that i feel in my spirit.

 

thank you for looking into mine eyes and

into my heart, sharing yourselves with the

likes of me…

 

con amor, me!

 

the wonder of life

 

does the flower wonder when it is a bud;

…will i grow to be as radiant as that golden

 sunflower that has all of the sun’s attention and

 the clouds hovering o’er, fawning over its beauty?

 

so too, i ask, when a crimson cardinal perches on

a large arbor oak’s limb does it stand with pride 

that this winged angel visits in its glorious plume

vest, singing to greet the morning gold horizon

 

little do we know of this that is considered only

a human condition but in that i believe love is

the intrinsic fiber of all, then surely would be

shallow of us to think otherwise of the flower,

the cardinal and the tree

love in tow

 

the moon and the stars wave adieu

to the night while traversing in the

sky giving of its nocturnal stay to

another time and place

 

they depart giving deference to the star

of day now titillating the horizon with its

golden tentacles as the sunflower and

daisy raise their yellow petals upward

to greet their ‘sol’ mate

 

the vibrant verve of day begins with

Nature’s sounds at play, song of birds,

tiny nails scurrying up bark on trees and

the water rippling sounds of a stream

 

the nascence of another morning comes

to be, and so this incarnation rises with a

new spirit in tow to praise a new beginning,

and with a warm embrace of love, to share

quietude of my solitude

in the quietude of my solitude, even when

mine eyes are closed; i can see the sun, the

moon and stars and best hear the breeze’s

whispers in recalling of my yesteryears and

foretelling of my tomorrows

 

where calm replaced the angst and fears,

a smile that replaced sadness and tears,

‘feels’ in my heart shared with them who

carried my blood and then found in a forest

of trees, the one who would hold me in her

arms, forever more

 

now I rest my head upon a pillow on my bed

and will have sweet dreams juxtaposed of

life’s gifts and i shall speak of this to them

who will listen to my stories in word, share

in writ for many eyes to read of the love

and the joy life has bestowed  

  

today i share my joy of Spring

 

Nature brings about a distinct spirit

unique to this season of Spring

the sun’s golden rays in this time of

year seem more radiant, a warmth

that give rise to the early yellow

jonquils and orange and white

dandelions

 

these glorious mornings inspire the songs

of my feather friends to lift my spirit and

raise this, now frail incarnate shell that

has housed it for many a year, to want

to rise and stretch its feeble arms and

legs, giving praise to the day, being

grateful for one more breath here on

this mundane stay

 

today, i shall kiss my lovely wife and my

two joyous canine children, and will go

out yonder to witness the beauty of

the day, for i am blessed to be able to

do this when there are so many that

cannot, for their burdens are too great

and their spirit fraught with pain

 

my heart and on my face a smile shall be

and if they intermingle with others, they

will share in the joy of the day, for of all

the wealth of things i have garnered of

this world, today I wish to share the

grandest of my riches, being the joy in my

spirit and the love of my heart

my seventieth of this mundane existence

 

a miracle happened seventy years ago this month

to a young Mexican mother giving birth to a little

healthy person with two eyes, two arms, two Legs

and a heart, soon to be witnessed to be full of love

 

at the base of a grand city in Teotihuacan to spiritual

ancestry of Aztec and Toltec, myself transcendent of

an Eagle, but the miracle now, one of a human being

with aspirations to the writ of prose, poetry and verse

 

today i embrace this gift in the longevity of my life,

to have shared moments with other life beings

who have shown me to be witness in the circle of

friendship and love

 

for those of you who have traversed this path with

me, whether for a moment or many years, gracias

for your embrace, your warmth and for the memories

we share of the vicissitudes of this mundane sojourn

 

smile with me, today

 

consuming words

 

the more words i gather to ascribe on 

script, the more i value their worth

 

these words that with inspirations come,

much like standing on the edge of a

promontory ledge, gasping breath.

sharing the words to incite thought and

passion, the heart beats in a flutter

 

assembling words of expression is the same as

music that harbors a melody intertwined with

fresh budding then flowering words, pollinating

seeds in one’s imagination to reflect upon and

reminisce with nostalgia

 

the gathering of my words may sometimes

be assembled in a melodic style of metaphors

and similes, creating as ornaments, symbolisms

and pictures in the mind, the feelings in the

heart, emoting

 

and as my words are read, they hopefully poke

and tickle the imagination, stirring the heart

and spirit as does Van Gogh, Monet or Matisse

on canvas, or Rodin with bronze, and so too

Nature, for our breath to be stoked short and

eyes to behold

 

rich and grateful

i have much more than many and

many have much more than me but

what i have i’m willing to share

and wealth is not of possessions but

of peace of mind and a heart full

of love and thus i am rich and grateful

Primavera

 hola, all you pretty flowers and verdant grasses

i've awaited your renaissance after a long prior

troublesome year that has brought much angst,

much sorrow with many many 'lagrimas'

let me open the windows of my abode to

seduce your wonderous cielo azul, the still

cool but warm breezes to blow in and listen

to the glee of birds and critters at play

there's a joy you bring that makes 'mi corazon'

flutter and i see smiles on faces passing by

strollers with newborns being pushed along,

little children skipping, mothers and dads joy

and as i consume the days' beginning whilst

the suns' sprawled rays pierce between limbs

of trees now sprinkled with new buds and white

cottons have replaced the greys, cast shadows

whilst, my heart and spirit has longed for your

arrival, so too i'm sure, all other life here on this

floating blue rock in our piece of the universe

is welcoming your gentle touch of Spring

in their absence Love remains

 

when one departs from this mundane sojourn

they enter into the light, onto a new peaceful journey

it is sad for those left behind who shared in their circle of love

but we must find the strength to celebrate shared time in the heart

 

it is okay to lament and to cry in their absence, for the void they

left behind in memories, little and grand, that will assuredly

be nurtured by tears flowing at moments unexpectedly

but a heartfelt reminder, their spirit is still present

 

what is intrinsic in love, is that once it’s been shared it will

always remain, never to wane even in their absence

for love is ever-present, not belonging to any one

but held by all things living and shared by all

 

Love is eternal

 

Love is there, here, if you reach and grasp it,

must be desired, embraced, be intertwined,

enmeshed, consumed by its intrinsic spirit

 

one must love to love, like a tree with the sky

or the bird with the wind, the river with the sea,

like a canine that loves without conditions

 

if one understands Love, enters into its abode

they will wish never to leave its vicinity, never

again to depart from its grasp

 

open your eyes, your ears, your smell, your

touch to where you can feel it with your heart

and soul and you will reside in its eternity

we are in this together

 

...see that one daisy, that's me

which one is you, are you amidst

this field of beauty in Nature

 

although we may all look the same

we must remember that we all have

roots in the earth as does the mountain

 

we, all, are under the same sky in the day

the sun shines on all of us and in the noir of

night. so too. under the moon and the stars

 

and under our petals, the cool shade and

shelter we provide for all the tiny critters that

scurry about in day and night, are grateful to us

 

remember, that in this mundane sojourn  we all

have a place, a significance