Mommy you will never call me for that title belongs to someone else, yet you will Always be my first child…for I have been there to see you grow like the flowers of a Royal water lily and its many transformations, petals white as jades full of virginal Innocence releasing aromatic scents of independence that will attract many trying to Strip you of your beauty … Continue reading Marissa
Syncopated rhythms over conga beats, I saunter in the footprints of men and women of generations passed. Dissecting myself a cadaver, open and free. From the bomba y la plena, from the sugar cane factories to the bench of the Supreme Court, we… have come a long way. Having studied many times The marble which was chiseled out for me— By the calloused hands of … Continue reading Poem:: Not My Mother’s Daughter
Deep wrinkled, hollowed eyed, burned by the sun flashes of red, crisscross onyx covered retinas. No longer able to contain emotions, hyperventilating, sweating, shaking, stomach flipping because I’ve never really liked roller coasters. Reaching elevating highs, only to be overtaken by catapulting lows, who in their right mind enjoys this? Strapped in tight, blasting tunnels lit with projections of stars, galaxies, asteroids, and other cosmological … Continue reading Emotional Rollercoaster
I’m a hungry beast devouring ignorance with each stroke of my pen. Today’s poem is in the form of a haiku. Haiku is a Japanese style of poetry that combines form, content, and language in a meaningful, yet compact form. The first line usually contains five syllables, the second line seven syllables, and the third line contains five syllables (5,7,5). A Haiku must “paint” a mental image … Continue reading (5/30) Food for My Soul
The wind whispers regrets as I bathe in the fragrance of your memory Nurturer, Supporter, Independent Woman Where have you gone? And almost as if an apparition you appear smelling of Benson & Hedges 100’s I can hear you, feel your presence as I stare into your charcoal eyes searching for the answer to the question that I never got to ask. Continue reading (3/30) Call to the Spirit
Sisters. They’re bratty, clingy, nosey, and sometimes just plain old evil. They look up to you, imitate you, tease you, support you, help you, and console you when your first love dumps you. They’re catty, selfish, and spiteful but for all the things they are the most important of them is that no matter how bad things seem they will always love you. The bond … Continue reading A letter to my sister…
On days like today, I remember you. Tragedy does not remain localized. It manifests outward, from the epicenter, heart and guts exposed; Exploding out of chests, like limbs decapitated by land mines, Earthquakes ravage, hurricanes savage and if you’re at the wrong place at the wrong time Fall victim to anger that shoots first and asks questions last. Pressurized water bursts through rotten aluminum pipes … Continue reading When the Earth Trembles
Perhaps not to be is to be without your being, without your going, that cuts noon light like a blue flower, without your passing later through fog and stones, without the torch you lift in your hand that others may not see as golden, that perhaps no one believed blossomed the glowing origin of the rose, without, in the end, your being, your coming … Continue reading “Perhaps not to be is to be without your being…”
By Pablo Neruda I want you to know one thing. You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if I touch near the fire the impalpable ash or the wrinkled body of the log, everything carries me to you, as if everything that exists, aromas, light, metals, were little boats … Continue reading If You Ever Forget Me…
nancy arroyo ruffin 