Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Ripe Berries


Berries.
Blackberries.
It's all about the sensuous 
trickle-stream flow
of the chin-staining juice running
right through the thorns to make
a pathway straight to your open heart.
Can't think about the snare of spiky canes 
when the passionate purple goo is
dripping so seductively into 
your waiting mouth with a
taste that obliterates all judgment,
shatters all restraints and
opens minds and hearts, legs and arms 
even as you protest that your
well-ordered life is being hijacked
through the brambles to
God knows where . . .
(But oh, it tastes so damn good)
Squeeze the fruit from that scruffy, danger-filled shrub  
and see what happens. . . 
and what does not happen.
You will not, of course, proceed accordingly.

Ah, bright-eyed innocence of youth and hormones.
I embraced you with gusto but don't miss you a bit
because so many years later
I have finally mastered 
the exquisitely delicious art 
of walking and eating blackberries
at the same time. 

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Moras Maduras


Moras.
Zarzamoras.
Es la seducción 
goteo-chorrito-flujo
del jugo mancha-mandíbula corriendo
de entre las espinas a hacer
un sendero directamente a tu corazón abierto.
No puedes pensar en los tallos espinosos
cuando el apasionado néctar violeta
gotea a tu boca abierta con un sabor que
oblitera todo juicio,
destruye todo control y
abre mentes y corazones, piernas y brazos
aunque protestas el desvío de tu vida 
por las zarzas hasta Dios sabe dónde . . .
(Ay, pero sabe tan rico)
Aprieta la fruta de ese arbusto 
desaliñado y peligroso y
verás lo que pasa . . .
y lo que no pasa.
Claro que no vas a proceder prudentemente.

Ay, inocencia luminosa de la juventud y las hormonas.
Te abracé con gusto, pero no te extraño ni un poquito
porque después de tantos años
por fin he dominado el arte delicioso 
de caminar y comer moras
a la vez.

Thursday, August 17, 2023

On the #1 Bus



Whatever happened to unobstructed views?
Who decided it was a good idea to slap advertisements on bus windows?
Will it ever stop raining?
As the #1 bus trundled down 6th Avenue
on a soakingly grim Sunday,
passengers were few,
the air was thick with moist, shared breath,
and I had questions . . .
questions that were abruptly interrupted
when the bus lurched to a stop 
at 6th and Stevens.
The doors swung open, and our driver announced
that there was a vivid double-rainbow
hanging just behind us.
We should all hop off to take a look, he said.
And so it was that an improbable Holy Trinity gathered that day:
a silver-crowned crone, a testy teen with a nose ring of gold,
and our mild-mannered driver ~
transformed for an instant into our High Priest of Awe ~
all standing next to the #1 bus on 6th Avenue,
savoring the unexpected,
the fleeting hues of mystery,
the arcing brilliance of colors split . . .
before they dissolved back into the drear
and the bus ride continued
on a Sunday that was no longer grim.

Friday, June 18, 2021

Here Comes the Sun


Hop on your bike
and take your soul out for a little spin.
Be sure to wear sunflowers
(and not much else)
Shed the over-stuffed suffocating duty-coat and
peel those weighted lament-layers off your back.
Go ahead. Don't be shy.
Strip the worry and regret down to
the very core of your being.
Be ruthless,
then wildly fling the whole sacred mess into the
summer-alchemy of glorious sun-fire.
It is the time of our earth-orb's joy-tilt to the light.
¡Shine!

The darkness will return soon enough. 
Don't postpone delight.

(Remembering riding with the naked cyclists in the Fremont Solstice Parade, 2017. 
May this joyous celebration return next year!)


____________________________________

Ahí viene el sol



Sube a tu bici
y da una vuelta con tu alma.
Ponte girasoles
(y no mucho más)
Suelta el sofocante abrigo del deber y
quita de tu espalda esas capas cargadas del arrepentimiento.
Ándale. No seas tímido.
Pela la preocupación y lamento hasta
el centro de tu ser.
Sé despiadado,
y lanza este sagrado revoltijo al
alquimia-veraniega del glorioso fuego-sol.
Es el tiempo del solsticio,
nuestro orbe-tierra inclinando alegre
hacia la luz.
¡Brilla!

La oscuridad regresará antes que te des cuenta.
No pospongas el deleite.

(Recordando mi experiencia de andar con los ciclistas desnudos en el desfile de solsticio en Fremont, 2017. 
Espero que regrese esta celebración el año que viene!)

Friday, January 31, 2020

Be like Gwen.



Be like Gwen.
Refuse to live in despair.
Be tenacious in the pursuit of truth.
Be ethical and fair.
Mentor young people, especially those who might be overlooked.
Listen well to those young people and learn from them.
Inspire. Impart. Believe.
Actively seek the good and holy.
Name the ugliness and resist it.
Be joyful.
Be like Gwen.
Refuse to live in despair.


https://www.npr.org/2020/01/29/801055141/journalist-gwen-ifill-honored-with-black-heritage-forever-stamp?fbclid=IwAR2Pio4B7PeVix0QU9lcAPmyYDQtjlxfzphVr6BGBCnRgAb8ibB0QRQUMmQ

__________________________________________


Se como Gwen.
Niégate a vivir en la desesperación.
Se tenaz en la búsqueda de la verdad.
Se ética y justa.
Guía a los jóvenes, especialmente los que podrían ser ignorados.
Escucha bien a esas jóvenes y aprende de ellas.
Inspira. Enseña. Cree.
Busca activamente lo bueno y lo sagrado.
Nombra la fealdad y resístela.
Se feliz.
Se como Gwen.
Niégate a vivir en la desesperación.

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/29/801055141/journalist-gwen-ifill-honored-with-black-heritage-forever-stamp?fbclid=IwAR2Pio4B7PeVix0QU9lcAPmyYDQtjlxfzphVr6BGBCnRgAb8ibB0QRQUMmQ