24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
There is no amount of water that could extinguish
the Fire inside I have for you
the flames lick the corners of my ribcage warming every cell
a spark, turned into a flame, turned into an out of control wild fire, that I hope burns for the next 60 years
only when my heart stops beating will that fire go out and turn me into ash
As though the cells of my body
have transitioned to another place,
translated into a future me
I do not yet recognize,
my mind stumbles clumsily behind,
aching to be reunited.
I float within this space,
gathering wool round the edges
of my tiny universe,
knitting a reality I can comprehend,
yearning to transform desert dust
into rich brown earth,
twisted saplings to towering trees.
Ever so often
In the wisp of a moment
I hear a faint whisper
Ever so often
In the mystery of the day
I feel a soft touch
Ever so often
When life seems so down
I feel a sudden rush pull me
Ever so often
In the heat of a moment
I feel something push me
Every time I search
I look for what caused this
I seek an answer
I search for a visible explanation
But all I find
The only thing I see
Is nothing
Because
what is happening
cannot be seen
it is invisible to the eye
yet experiential to the senses
It is the wind
It is unseen
But I can feel it
The wind gives me a rush
The wind pushes and pulls me
in and out of situations
It is the constant reminder
That even though you may not be able to see a person
They are always there in love and spirit
The wind
Shares its secret to me
The wind
Oh the scandal of the wind
Lovely lusciousness lays before me,
and I can’t wait to do more
than just
whet
my appetite.
My eyes linger on
each
delicious,
delectable
detail,
and I’m almost
dizzy
with anticipation.
I longingly lick my lips,
a sweet sigh escaping softly
as my excitement grows.
Closer,
closer,
and closer still,
until it is all that I can see.
My whole world is filled
in this moment
by the brazen and bold
beauty before me.
I reach out
and take
what is mine,
unapologetically
brash
in my thrall.
I am unashamed
as I reap my reward,
finally
getting a piece
of my favorite
chocolate cream pie.
The hardest part
is starting
i approach most things half heartedly
unless it involves my kids
they are the epicenter of activities
my firestarter
we did our first race
as a family
our first hillside
our first mountain climb
our first car ride across state lines
we use roadmaps
for directions
the universe is always on display
tiny dream catchers hang by our headboards
protecting the sacredness of our dreams
the hills cradle alongside mountains
as blankets swaddle my children in the front and back seats
my hhr is our crazy horse
and we ride through mesas and state parks, through storms and public restrooms blending our present and past together with each mile
A long hard road,
lay ahead of me.
I didn’t know how long it was,
I didn’t know when it would end.
So I kept walking through the forages
cutting past my doubts
facing my fears,
all the while
Dealing with the reality of the situation.
That nobody could save me,
Only I could save myself
The truth was, I was all alone.
Paranoia preyed at my sanity
shaking the roots of everything I believed in…
I started questioning myself
hoping the answers would appear.
But it didn’t happen like that way.
I fought tooth and nail
and hard for myself.
But,sometimes that too wasn’t enough.
It was cold and unforgiving,
Treacherous …
My body started caving in,
My mind still focused.
I kept moving on,
even when I didn’t have
the strength in my legs to walk
I crawled….
Trained my eyes
to look for the light
at the end of the tunnel.
Until one day a
glimmer of light
caught my eye.
I focused all my energy
towards the light,
Before I knew it,
the ordeal was over.
I survived!
I made it out alive!
-Janice Raquela Mendonca
In a TARDIS
If I could but in a TARDIS go
Across all time and space
I’d not regret the friends I’d leave
Or the loss of any place
What wonders I could witness then!
What sights I could then see!
Planets and moons and galaxies
And folks from history
What battles I would have to fight?
And meet which alien race?
If I could but in a TARDIS go
Across all time and space
The black and white television screen flashes to a bald man
The color of his suit is a bright blue and with a blink of his eye,
I fall forward into the glass of my Hennessy colored table
Purple and turquoise fog clouds my eyes
While clarinet music screams at my ears
My body feels stretched like a rubber band
I fly through a foggy tunnel with a bald eagle at my side
She looks directly into my eyes without a glance ahead
Through the noise, whispers reach me without hesitation
Terror occupies every cell in my little human body but the thrill is too great
I swim across the fiery wind and reach the penultimate gate on the mountain
There I find the answers to my endless searches, but then my alarm goes off.
A stony,cracky road forward,
I waited for my bus,
eagerly,without a blink of eyes.
A stray dog by my side,
he looked at me,
with intense love and hope.
A piece of biscuit,
left out of which what I ate,
I threw it to him.
Eyes filled with gratitude,
he ate that.
Hours passed,
people changed,vehicles changed,
I started walking,
with doubt and fear,
He barked,wagged his tail,
We walked,together!
In the darkening afternoon a bee alights on a flower,
Little knowing the storm brewing behind her.
In the farmhouse windows are latched down
And valuables secured against future violence.
Their lives are fragile here, and even
The smallest stroke of misfortune may mean
The difference between starving and thriving.
That was the gamble this family made when they came out West,
Little but the clothes on the backs and belongings in their wagon
To keep and maintain them so far from home.
Desperation made them cruel and greedy,
A promise of opportunity sold that might never come to fruition.
When they went out and saw what the storm had done to their crops,
They decided to blame their neighbors.