Slug Songa villanelle
Creeping, unaware, late to know
A glistening trail in my wake
The sun and moon juxtaposed
Unconscious of the splendid flow
Small Sisyphus, I accept this fate
Creeping, unaware, late to know
I persevere coming close and close
Eating epiphany like birthday cake
The sun and moon juxtaposed
I have been water, fluid, forgetting Those,
Working at this pearl, my heart quakes
Creeping, unaware, late to know
And at the journey’s end, what can I show?
Even as I move, the earth shakes
The sun and moon juxtaposed
“To Live Long, You Must Live Slow”
The poster tacked to my wall, confidently states
So, I creep on unaware, late to know
The sun and moon juxtaposed.
Where in the World is Jorge Sarabia?
I remember seaching
for Carmen Sandiego
a geography game
of icey-blue tundras
purple lakes
and orange Eiffel.
Certainly that Monday
we wondered
where in the world
is Jorge Sarabia?
but this was no game,
I hated the icey words
he's been taken.
Even then
who could map
the straight line
from a goalie's kick downfield
to the back of a windowless van
straight to the border
ICEd at 16.
Who wants to play
Chutes and Ladders next?
Its a simple game,
it started before we were born.
Traveling Poem for English 10
We flit from place to place
like the thoughts of a stranger
watching waves emerge,
shimmer with light
then submerge
integrated into flesh and breath.
And in some distant time
you too may recognize
inside shimmering sound or light
a reflection of this small space
that held a short while
your young and open heart.
We flit from place to place
like the thoughts of a stranger
watching waves emerge,
shimmer with light
then submerge
integrated into flesh and breath.
And in some distant time
you too may recognize
inside shimmering sound or light
a reflection of this small space
that held a short while
your young and open heart.
Standardized Testings
Loud voices in the hallway arrest
the quiet. Teachers talk about pregnancy and childbirth
Memories of newborns held close to their chests.
Inside, students bend close to their math test
required for graduation. There is no dearth.
Loud voices in the hallway arrest
time. Soon these young men and women will divest
themselves of tests and youth, create their own worth—
like memories of newborns held close to their chests.
What is rehearsal to this test?
“You never told me how to be happy.” He was hurt
loud voices in the hallway. Arrest
the absurdity of what we value above the rest—
examination and data– not magic slowly unearthed
mysterious memories– newborns held close to the chest.
Here is a window– now build your own nest
Spring beckons with the colors and sounds of earth’s mirth
like loud voices in the hallway arrest
memories. New birth held close to the chest.
