sweet and strong

it is hard to stay sweet, it is hard to stay soft
in a world that presses hard on its carbons
hoping they will turn into diamonds
it is hard to stay afire when the storms come
and yet with our lights on, we still glow

we glow hot, and we burn out of patience
if we do not remember to look out
for our siblings and neighbors;
the ones who were tried before us
in hot fires shall teach us

you do what you can and you sail
in the storm cause there are no shelters
for our bodies and souls, unless if we build them.
we look out for our children
feeding on their sweet love, and crying for their pain

it gets easy if we look outside of us and we share
the worlds of our words, the peace of our souls,
the hunger, the food, the thirst and the wine
and if we are really vulnerable,
the dream to stay strong

- this one for Evelyn

whistle

if i whistle in a forest
if i whistle in a dream
if nobody cares to listen
should i whistle still?

if bat my arms at random
when luck throws me in a river
never minding if i shiver
i should hope to learn to swim

if i put my legs in order
one in front of the lazy other
and i start my journey
will it matter?

it will matter if i gather
seeds of love, and seeds of knowledge
to plant along the pathways
that we'll carve inside our forest

i plan to share the journey,
and the love that will be planted
in the songs i will be dreaming
while i am whistling

fire

fire through the veins
through the forest
through the sky
spreading fast
reaching out
with bursts
of light

smoke

A the end of the year you may find
that you have taken a lot of heat
and on the side - you have developed
a special sense to detect smoke.
and if your mind muscles are a bit sore
it is all for better because
you have emerged shiny and strong
from the kiln, and you have learned
that to make your path
towards light you may have
to take heat - sometimes
and you can!

peace

peace springs with your words
out of your mouth
your words are the sprouts
of a bright and kind
future
love spring from your acts
out of your hands
which shape the objects
that we all touch
as we grow
the looks out of your eyes
comes in warm waves
as your embrace molds us
into the the children
of your light

the wisdom of the earth

the soil under our feet
gives us roots,nourishment, and strength
to us who roll our lives forgetful, and tall
scraping its surface
while in its wisdom
it waits quietly, respectful and kind
for some well deserved
return on investment

north migration

I have moved my heart to the north
not much, but enough so that
i would not mind the cold
and the blows of random winds
unless they break trees to the ground.
i hear now the songs of ice
as it expands sending ahead
waves of shivers
but i  have toughened up
for the northeasters
are yet to come
and we still have to learn
to stay alive
with our heads above ground
in the middle of the protective forest
taking example from hardwoods
and evergreens
and farther beyond these,
the modest but of so flavorful
juniper bushes and berries

silence

the piano is suspended in silence
hanging in the air
by an invisible spider thread
and all you can hear are footsteps
muffled by the increasing distance
which only takes them away.

i wonder where did this come from
and for how long i can still hang
without bouncing onto the spider web
to stick up there with the piano
to bang the keys and break the silence
into pieces of crystal of focussed sound

will you spread the sound
fill the surround with love, and light
until the net lets go and we will bounce
float up, with music pieces and all
into the comfortable space
made by the spiders of silence

reflections

some people are like diamonds
they shine
with some of their faces
and their many truths.
they look good in the night
but hurt in the sun

some people are like mirrors
the shine
right back the rays
which hit them
in straight lines of silvery light.
they make no use of the dark

some people are like fire
they shine
from within with the spark
of the light burning inside
sharing their heat equally
with the day and the night

needy poem

every now and then
there comes a need
to read love poems
let them ring deep
in the empty mind
let them fill
the darkness
with light

every now and then
there comes a wish
to sing love
the songs that
it needs
to fill the space
that we inhabit
so we can live

unbroken

some stay unbroken
because they bend
and others stand up
like white knights
on tall horses;
but most break down
in tears or obedience;
their dreams
running down
with the sewage
and streaming
into wide oceans.

there at the edge
between real and eternity
you find them;
at times riding the waves,
at times rolling with fish
and other strange
creatures.
the rebels
keep trying
to stand up
on their boards
unbroken.

woman

there was a strange woman
who lived down the street
she wore her best gowns
when she planted the seeds
of beautiful flowers

she built herself a garden
when all silent neighbors
were tending the lawns
laying ruly and low (green and boring)
under their feet.

she taught kids about music
and piano sonatas
and crazy forgotten traviattas
i am sure she was lonely
and i hope she was sweet


she has gone north
with the wind
the strange woman
who left us the flowers
of wonder, right at our feet

wind

it is not in my power
to break your silence
or to flap your wings
but i can whistle and blow
and raise the high winds
for you to feel
the desire to fly;
or i can silence and wait
till you feel the blade
of green grass
cutting through the dark
and into the light
and wait for the star
that you are to be born
shinning and clad
from the heat of the hearth

the gift

i give you
a rich imagination
it is a precious gift
as well as a liability
so you will often need
reality checks

if lost - you will be able
to find a path
and if a gap
interrupts your path
you will be able
to build a bridge

if lonely
you will find
a dense net
connecting
from heart
to heart
to a friend

do not fall
in love with wizards
and leprechauns
do not kiss
countless frogs
but stick to your friends

for i have given you
a rich imagination
as a gift, as well as liability
a need to hold hands with your friends
a hunger to laugh and to forget
that you need reality checks

lift

when everything falls apart
you may decide to fall to the base
and there at ground level to seek
and nurture the roots

when everything falls
you too may fall
swinging together
in  dance for a while

allow yourself a little rest
to feed on the bitter roots
gather the strength to climb
the stem of  magic bean stalks

lift up into the light
empowered by the knowledge
imparted at the base
of what will be your tree

forwards

you make me think forwards
you make me think open
you make me dream
and think in terms of we
i like to think that
i also make you thinks forwards
and open, and that you
dream in resonance of we
taking small steps forwards
fearless into the open
preparing to move through leaps
boundless alternates to strings;
the only strings and equilibrium points
i need lie in you hands
give me your hands
stretch to reach besides your grasp
i will lift you, and you will lift me
and we'll make all the rivers dance

this i believe

i believe
that giving makes you free
to move on to other things;
that teaching is the supreme
form of giving;
that working together
is better than racing
against each other.
i believe you can create
in harmony and trust
and hope that we can 
all get better at what we do.
i believe in learning
at any age;
and in receiving advice
from the wise;
i believe in the need
to trust
i trust you if i can feel
your shoulder can lift
a bucket of water from the well
or that you are working at it;
i believe in the need to love
what you do
and that you can create love
for it is an action
and we are what we do
i believe not in me, nor in you
i do believe wholeheartedly
in we. this i believe.

make stuff up

make stuff up
do -whatever happens
build with your hand
share, open up
dare defend
and win the attack
and if you get there
do not forget
yourself when you started up
let the weak
lift the small voice up
let growth happen
towards light

rather i'd rather

i'd rather be naive
than convoluted;
straightforwards
works just fine
for me; for as long
as i am not afraid
of vulnerability.

i'd rather hurt
than be indifferent
i'd rather give
than be forever hollow,
so will you please
give me your hand
and trust?

let's dare step
on hot sand
in the sun
and dance
with the wave
for we can solve
all problems as one

- this one for Bushu

up

play your song
play it loud
there may be a chance
you can still wiggle out
the spark that buds in your heart
there is still a chance
to light up the colors
in a perfect sixth
and shoot them up
in a rainbow

forwards

sometimes
you walk alone
your soul is hollow
your light is low

sometimes
you meet a man
who lends a hand
and lights a spark

the world lights up
your fire's kindled
the wind is strong
and lifts your life

it's but a dance
and please remember
at times to pay your debts
forwards

What is it which gets old within us (2)

What is it which gets old within us

by Lucian Blaga

(in my imperfect translation)

What is it which gets old within us,

that unexpectedly makes us rise one morning

With the desire to hide

Name and face?

What is it which gets old within us,

that when we reach the twilight

makes us find out that we belong to the past,

estranged from contemporaries, fog's shadows?

It surely cannot be the pulsating blood

nor the beating heart, the passion, or spirit,

nor the echoes reverberating in our ears,

but only the tear

for old men cry old tears

i have learned a new language

i have learned a new language
so that i could understand
the words of your songs;
so please sing them to me now
while i can still hear
the trill

What is it which gets old within us

by Lucian Blaga (in my imperfect translation)

What is it which gets old within us,
that unexpectedly makes us rise one morning
With the desire to hide
Name and face?

What is it which gets old within us,
that when we reach the twilight
makes us find out that we belong to the past,
foreigners among today, shadows in the fog?

It surely cannot be the pulsating blood
nor the beating heart, the passion, or spirit,
nor the echoes reverberating in our ears,
but only the tear
for old men cry old tears

crescendo

your worries should lie low
your songs shall softly
rock a baby cradle now
your hearts shall beat in unison
while water waves shall
gently touch their banks to flow

the ocean waves should come and go
to sandy shores they bring homage
to boats they bring the force they need
so smoothly sail my love
ahead of fears and towards dreams
untouched by webs of mermaid spells

today you have your song to sing
your voice i want to hear
as it will rise above the chorus whispers
while the silver girl you accompanied here
shall touch the strings and help you weave
the fabric of your dreams

rain/to keep the light flowing

some days are plain gray
and it feels like there is not
enough love in the world;
just wind whistling,
aimless leaves rustling
on cracked pavement

some days start green
and you wake up and think
if i am the only love
left in the world
must i not do something
to kindle the fire we need?

and if your light seeds
the night sky with stars
and if the sky starts pouring
tears on the ground
while a hand touches a hand
the grass will start growing

to keep the light flowing

hip hop

I may not be hip
but i am certainly hoppy
i may be indian pale,
brown or golden
but always on
the bitter side
i am an ale
an ageless ale

I used to be
brewed by alewives
with secret mixtures
of herbs and spice
sweet gale and sage
and the sap of pine
a bit of wormwood
and yarrow and broom

I have been safe to drink
for the belligerent knights;
at their tables
when the water was stale
and truly a danger
but did not last on long trips
with lone sailors
and could not shorten their travels

then hops came along
and i got a new life
infused with the youth
of ginger and orange
i am an ale,
be bitter or sweet
I may not be hip
but i am certainly hoppy