the houses with a hilltop view

Over the mountain that we debated could have been a hill
it stands, rows of houses, near rows of houses that look the same
identical in means and measures clearly cut out of stone
cut out of the valley, that has taken centuries to become ruined
by a past that is neither ours or theirs
nouns and pronouns that make nothing essential come to mind
over the mountain it stands, like a falcon
but all falcons are due to fall,
where does my fear stem from then, that it will stay?
the houses that were built over my people's bodies.

river-flow

without force, it will arrive
the flow of the river
that bursts in you.

this dash

A space divider, is a dash/
like this one to assure where I can put down the space/
a place for you and me /
that are just pronouns/
that pertain to no one/
that become part of the larger space/
that contains us all under its wings/
that merits no need for love or hate/
appealing opposites of same force/
that I am the space is in you/
that this dash makes no difference/
in the way we speak, the way our hands move/
yours on top of mine, mine searching for yours in the shadows//

The news, this week

It is again, the news, that takes you by storm 

even when you close your eyes

it follows you, like a shadow, 

a bird that flies very close behind

this is it, a bomb falls somewhere 

children are bleeding, mothers losing 

but there you stay

in your comfortable bed asking 

God for reasons you have left to live 

to receive voice

to speak in it for those who have 

been swept over by the news 

taken into the hands of their maker 

once more, tales, memories 

personal artifacts: old clothes, missal, TVs

photographs coming into ash

to bring about other photos 

newer and fresher the wounds

blood, tears, gas

photos, stories, soundbites

you turn the news off and close your eyes. 

read your book, without hurt

You read the scripture that states
"never hurt your brother"
to clear your mind out

oblivious to the fact that there is a knife
you stabbed in his back
without duly noting

what you say can and will be used
to turn your story around
to the direction no one had wanted

to begin with, start again
where you left off,
a knife dug deep deftly

not to remove things you planted
without hurt
that is bridged over

like an end of a disaster
or a destiny carved in bones
this is how you treat failure

an instance of regret
is a moment that will fleetingly
pass, like everything does

you read the Scripture
with a clean conscience
don't then hurt your brother.

Reconnecting to the spirit

it is a process, your hands on the mat
kneeling, stretching to make way for the energy
to connect into you the dots, for the spirit
 a heart beating under your hands.

He understands

The man understands
like the end of disappointment
that love, like sunshine, comes and goes