24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
No Magic
I’ve known no magic –
no fairy spell
no witch’s curse
I’ve known no alchemy or enchantment
– except for flowers
that grow unbidden in the grass
and open their small faces
to the sun
– except for fireflies
that sparkle amidst the trees
fliting everywhere
in random joy
– except for stars
burning across the vast universe from me
yet filling my night
with wonder
His smile tells me it will be alright,
she falls asleep fast when I tuck her in tight.
He has to steal a hug each time I pass,
she plays quietly when I’m on online class.
He keeps me going when I don’t think I can,
she prefers when I’m silly instead of having a plan
My family shows me each day that I am doing well,
By loving me with their magical spell.
A minute poem.
The acid tainted her face,
looking at the mirror,
she smiled and walked away.
He was a prisoner for a mishap,
people called him a killer,
he smiled and sat down.
He/She,confused,
looked down with contempt,
they called her transgender,
she calmed herself and started typing.
They all,
with different names,
different color,
different place,
all with the same anxious eyes,content heart,
wrote on ‘Magic’.
Yes,it is.
Different words,different moods but all with love.
It’s magic!
I am unfolding
to become something new
and unafraid.
I am unearthing
root causes anchoring me
to undesirable
and unsuitable circumstances
I am unveiling
new ideas and germinating
new approaches
I am unstoppable
and fearlessly facing
my
fabulous future
Forbidden sweetness tender ripeness supple and ample with a crackle and a zing. Fullness came forth overflowing tenderness Fulfillment and satisfaction in abundance Control is the new norm in town and guess what? it is too cool for you. It'll blow your hat off It'll take you by surprise, It'll shock and awe you, It'll petrify. Such are the ways of the world my dear friend, to elude you into a thick forest of fairy tales with happy endings. So confusing, So captivating, So astonishing, Treacherous are its ways. Don't fall for pretty lies and false promises. The truth is ugly and often roams around naked. But, it is never acknowledged for being true to itself. The world can't digest hard, ugly and bitter truths. So we dress them pretty And market them on billboards. Selling broken dreams and empty hopes with smiles so wide it can convince anyone. They are designed to catch your attention steal your sleep and prey upon your doubts, fears and insecurities. They are out on the road... on every junction and corner. There's no truth to this beautiful charade. Everywhere you look you will see magical delusion. Don't fall prey Don't become the next victim. It's all smoke and mirrors my dear friend. -Janice Raquela Mendonca
Coming closer she wept
Like her soul was on fire
Yet inside I could tell she was calm
Calm enough to rip open my heart
And feed on my passion for her
She cared not what happened to me
Only about what she would gain from
Draining me dry
I dig my fingertips down
into the soil
past the point of warmth
in search of the dandelion’s root
& I might as well be standing before a mirror
running my palms along every fold
and crevice that screams woman
pinching my cellulite as if I could
pluck it from the surface of me
the earth seeps through
the fabric of my gloves
finding home beneath
my fingernails
I ask myself
when was the first time
I thought of myself as a boy
or at least as something
that was not a girl
& if my womanhood can
once and for all be plucked
from this body
or if I’ll spend the rest of my life
watching it sprout yellow
turn to the wind &
scatter across my surface
Oily sludge
Drips from war machinery
Lubricated by blood-seasoned crude
We watch it on our TV
In air-conditioned misery
Wonder if there’s anything we can really do
In a world where fame supercedes the art that makes us famous
Where image misportrays the essence of who we really are
Where everyone’s not good enough
Just getting by is so damn tough
But we’re all just this close to being stars
Update Instagram to the rhythm of the war drums
Drone strike videos suggested on YouTube
Is this what we’ve become?
Constant passive viewing of atrocities make us numb
But not dumb
Overeducated, overworked and underpaid
Too informed to be anything but jaded
We bow to the gods of profit-driven resource extraction
And wonder why America is synonymous with hatred
Gears grind, dripping tears of Afghani mothers
Of Iraqi children
Of Syrian refugees
Of a world under threat from those who view their fellow man as others
Lubricated by petroleum
Habituated to violence
Inundated by conflict, chaos and distraction
So many distractions
The only sane reaction is to isolate
But that level of alienation McKenna spoke of is unattainable with the drones above
Dark skies punctuated by military satellites twinkling in space