hour six
sunlight breaks the clouds
shining down on me, as I
garden, hands in dirt
hour five
it’s late, the house is quiet
lying in bed,
my mind wanders to memories
from my childhood…
late nite whispers with
my sister,
drives with my parents on Sundays,
trips to the State Fair &
the county fair,
Working in the yard,
or the garden
or the hay field…
Chasing cows while waiting for
the school bus…
those are tears streaming down my face
– yet I smile
Alliteration: of sorts
Lovely laughing ladies
delight lonely little lovebirds
loving under light pole.
Laughter lightens lonesome souls
and love lives long lives.
Sueños
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
Onomatopoeia
The zooming cars deafen the quiet silence
with their beeping horns.
The grinding metal crashing against the pavement
spoofs the crowing crows and buzzing bees
that seek refuge in the wailing weeping willows.
The chirping sparrows and hovering hummingbirds
zap away and meet with thundering clouds.
Tangled balloons pop themselves free
from the coiled string; the string snaps dead.
Leaves wrapped in balloon plastic spiral downward
and their rustling sound frightens the fluttering butterfly.
The yapping mutt growls at the tangled string
but merrily chases the butterfly senseless.
Another sonorous call from the clouds
sends shivers that send mutt and me home
wth a banging rush.
Free Verse
FREE VERSE:
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
hour four
his fingers stroke the strings
the guitar sings the melody
the music creeps into my head
the lyric goes straight to my heart
filling me totally, an endless
feeling, coursing through my veins…
my mind reading the melody
converting it to colors and light
reducing me to tears…
and he smiles, and a wink as
the strain fades…
Acrophobia
When FDR declared the nation had only fear to fear,
He never had a gun to his head,
Ballistaphobia
never had a cobra hood opened at his bare legs
Ophidiaphobia
or strolled past the body of a jumper from a Manhattan 32 story high rise,
Necrophobia
the thump of the fall nearly lifting his feet off the ground.
But it wasn’t then that acrophobia hit.
No, it was the carefree days of carnivals and Ferris wheels,
free from regulations and safety straps, not even for seats
that turned upside down with the slow-turning wheel.
I was five and my car mates were nine and ten, measurably
larger, taller than I so that the metal bar kept them in as
the wheel spun us upside down and then right side up,
me clutching with all my strength to keep myself inside.
Thanatophobia. I had never heard the word in my five years,
but I lived my way through it many times since, perched on a ledge peering down thirty floors into a postage stamp courtyard, pondering the weighty sum of a life’s body at its impact against the immovable.
Acrophobia
(Just realized this one never uploaded)
When FDR declared the nation had only fear to fear,
He never had a gun to his head,
Ballistaphobia
never had a cobra hood opened at his bare legs
Ophidiaphobia
or strolled past the body of a jumper from a Manhattan 32 story high rise,
Necrophobia
the thump of the fall nearly lifting my feet off the ground.
But it wasn’t then that acrophobia hit.
No, it was the carefree days of carnivals and Ferris wheels,
Free from regulations and safety straps, not even for seats
That turned upside down with the slow-turning wheel.
I was five and my car mates were nine and ten, measurably
Larger, taller than I so that the metal bar kept them in as
The wheel spun us upside down and then right side up,
Me clutching with all my strength to keep myself inside.
Thanatophobia. I had never heard the word in my five years,
But I lived my way through it many times since.
hour three
petals of bright fuschia,
deep green leaves,
droplets of water
crystallize in the sunlight,
the creek water ripples
with the gentle summer breeze,
dragonflies, skip on the sandbar
frogs making a chorus
add a soundtrack to enjoy the night