The Poetry Marathon

Never knew a visit to the ortho could truly make me smile.
Every word she said was uplifting, a term of endearment.
Who can feel the pain when kindness showers your very soul.
She explains everything in minute detail
and asks how you’re doing;
not that you can respond with a mouthful of cotton and stuff;
You make good use of your ASL.
If she doesn’t understand it, she understands smiles.
A thumb-up never fails.
She shares some of her story, her challenges;
you both empathize.
She compliments my dental hygiene;
I’ve heard that one before.
It’s ironic since I grew up without a toothbrush.
She’s always checking for my well-being
and asks me to tell her if something’s not ok.
She wants to know everything.
We take a break, and she walks me to the restroom,
Lying with head lower than body dizzies me out.
She makes sure I’m safe;
Nowhere else have I’ve gotten this kind of kind treatment.
We talk a bit then finish for the day.
I thank her for doing a great job and schedule next appt.
Copyright@2016 Martina Gallegos

What’s wrong with humankind?
For each other we don’t seem to care.
Compassion we must quickly find
because apathy is hard to bear.
We walk around the world without souls,
and tolerance is wearing thin.
We live in rabbit holes
but need to test reality with a pin.
What’s wrong with humankind?
We’ve lost feeling in our heart;
won’t mind,
to hear a loving word before you depart.
Copyright@2016 Martina Gallegos

Lovely laughing ladies
delight lonely little lovebirds
loving under light pole.
Laughter lightens lonesome souls
and love lives long lives.

SUEÑOS

Dejé mis sueños para buscar nuevos horizontes
sin tomar en cuenta los peligros que enfrentaría.
Iba lleno de sencillas ilusiones, sueños de niño.
Cubría mis sueños con mi inocencia
sin pensar que algún día encontraría trabas
que pondrían mis sueños bajo tierra.
¿Qué sabía yo que los sueños son como hielo
que se derrite con el calor del sol?
Mis sueños se comenzaban a derretir con palabras
de bocas que emitían calor de odio.
Intenté poner un alto a esas palabras
que amenazaban destruir mis sueños.
Dreams are stronger when they’re born from need
and the desire to share once they come true.
Dream breakers may come and threaten
to destroy and bury them,
but they won’t succeed if you hold on.
Keep your eyes set on your planned horizons.
The sun’s rays will keep your dreams warm
till you’re ready to release them.
No words are stronger than the sun’s warmth;
sunsets will cool down hateful words
and turn them into words of support.
Keep your sueños alive and going!

Copyright@2016 Martina Gallegos

Tanka:
A nice morning stroll
and breathing in morning air,
make the brain happy;
I’m ready for a long day
and can’t wait for tomorrow.

At the beak of dawn
I can feel the ocean breeze
gently waking me,
and I hear the doves cooing;
I don’t hear my hummingbirds.

I love all flowers
because they share the beauty
that I always need.

Daughter
beautiful, talented
laughing, loving, crying;
enjoys being with friends
Hija

The sound of a small dog scratching her back

and holding on to that old slipper at the same time

keeps my mind temporarily occupied.

That moment is broken by three chirping parakeets

that are probably asking for their late dinner.

The small dog howls for seconds, too.

An Instant Message from daughter;

she responds to my inquiry about a collar.

I guess salmon wasn’t enough for the yapping mutt;

she’s singing back-up with the parakeets.

There are other birds chirping outside, too:

they must be hungry, but I’m low on food and energy.

I notice this machine guesses what I’m going to write:

I should just think and let it type,

but it knows when to fail, of course.

Except for the birds and the yapper,

home is uneasily quiet now that daughter

is away from home after being home

for a couple of weeks for summer break.

As different and distant as we are now,

I love hearing her come home

with her, “Hi, Little Mom!”

She’s always kept that sweet, childish smile:

that’s what i miss the most when she’s away,

and I miss her sweet giggles and youthful laughter.

Copyright@2016 Martina Gallegos

The world is more difficult each day;
it’s becoming more like a nightmare.
Humanity seems to be going backwards;
I’ll leave the crabs out of this one.
There aren’t good, new news anymore;
we recycle everything but recyclables.
The world is more like a bad dream now;
one we don’t want to wake up from.
It’s no dream; it’s reality for most.
The only ones living in the dream
are the ones causing the nightmares.
Some people make nightmares out of dreams;
maybe they should make dreams out of nightmares.
One day they’ll wake up
to the mess they’ve created,
but it’ll be too late;
they’ll wish they’d been dreaming.
Dreams open our eyes to better
things for our troubled world.

Copyright@2016MartinaGallegos