holidays looming
economy swooning
after snow, birds sing
something he made clear
that screechy shriek was bird's song
sung now: come back love
cat sits by food bowl
not yet empty. he knows once
i was gone four months
your watch has ended
you brought us to the brink
don't push us over
they flew private jets
begging for money for cars
we fail ourselves now
noon sunlight wakes me
shivering under covers
the cold comes too soon
japanese soldier
in Siberian gulag
comes to love that land
gulag prisoner
poison into medicine
digs to find the past
mourning my dead cat
i try not to deny love
to the one still here
dusk without lights on
grey navy blue, furnace hum
large cat shadow moves
there is only me here
why is there not enough hot
water to shower
xenophobia
you enjoy a football game
just by taking sides
blame hurts me the most
i swear i don't want this pain
don't need this lesson
he sends me e-cards
telling me to be thankful
presuming to know
ant legs shaved, on stilts
tell us what we want to know
how they know to go
though it takes 3 hours
i give thanks for my shower
touching all over
ahh how it should be
ripe bananas, bright sunlight
great tunes on the box
deep level change comes
end rankism. nobodies
become somebodies
my penned hand thinks better than me
Advent: what's to come
waiting through the darknesses
praying for more, light
Nobel's peace land arms
many nations, makes more guns
than any other
they slept in the plant
2 million owed the workers
we must fix this mess
Raul Flores says
strong workers of Republic
stand united, win
he hopes all learn this
community makes us strong
a forest shelters
not about the song
but the singing, ancient, strong
carried freedom on
toxic debt spews ash
melting schemes, jobs, homes, lives, dreams
covering us all
Sunday intrusion
10 am knock and bell ring
shovels scrape and roar
winter solstice sun
light after storm Daddy's sign
his Happy Birthday
Pray for New Hampshire
Zimbabwe, Congo, Darfur
fuel, food, safety, peace
cat knows at long last
don't ask, don't pace by the door
too cold to go out
we begin again
loss will cease, day will lengthen
snow melt, warm sunshine
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday, December, NPR
care package gift
restores vocabulary
food that flavors life
Bobby Hutcherson
singing hammers resonate
soul metal ringing
they did not free us
North Sea swingers imbibe jazz
but they sing our songs
called the dog a dog
threw shoes at lame fowl ruler
president bush ducked
restores vocabulary
food that flavors life
Bobby Hutcherson
singing hammers resonate
soul metal ringing
they did not free us
North Sea swingers imbibe jazz
but they sing our songs
called the dog a dog
threw shoes at lame fowl ruler
president bush ducked
Labels:
Bobby Hutcherson,
care package,
food,
North Sea Jazz
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
December sunday
white jazz singer scats
my father wouldn't like her
i miss his great ears
i sang that tune once
hills alive with music's sound
all i must relearn
light streams through white blinds
bright gold bars float on wood floor
bird shadows flutter
crocheting Christmas
new designs meet old standards
trees, neckwarmers, love
my family
people i don't know talking
on the radio
Sunday radio
secular worship, hearing
all day NPR
La Bohème, Carmen,
Madame Butterfly, Mommy,
i hear you in these
my father wouldn't like her
i miss his great ears
i sang that tune once
hills alive with music's sound
all i must relearn
light streams through white blinds
bright gold bars float on wood floor
bird shadows flutter
crocheting Christmas
new designs meet old standards
trees, neckwarmers, love
my family
people i don't know talking
on the radio
Sunday radio
secular worship, hearing
all day NPR
La Bohème, Carmen,
Madame Butterfly, Mommy,
i hear you in these
Saturday, December 6, 2008
December 6
............................................
monks in tuscany
sing praisesongs for nativity
o holy sounds ring
this christmas will be
full and empty missing them
who holy made me
Hope, Albert, parents
beyond praise now, beyond pain
thank you for your love
i told you so
how your leaving would break me
why couldn't you last?
opening the door
cold shoves past, entering
with the roaming cat
the book of carols
won't stay open, too much
for me to play
move the garbage out
light incense, brew clove tea,
winter Saturday
tall milkweed stalks stand
white fluff clings to ruptured pods
wild untidy mess
monks in tuscany
sing praisesongs for nativity
o holy sounds ring
this christmas will be
full and empty missing them
who holy made me
Hope, Albert, parents
beyond praise now, beyond pain
thank you for your love
i told you so
how your leaving would break me
why couldn't you last?
opening the door
cold shoves past, entering
with the roaming cat
the book of carols
won't stay open, too much
for me to play
move the garbage out
light incense, brew clove tea,
winter Saturday
tall milkweed stalks stand
white fluff clings to ruptured pods
wild untidy mess
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
December 2
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
toes cut off when young
noses cut off stops fighting
mass produced turkeys
when i ate turkey
i liked drumsticks, dark meat
now bred out, all gone
how can fall be
so dark at noon that i must
turn on all the lights
this fall so cold
i wear hats inside all day
and a hat to bed
toes cut off when young
noses cut off stops fighting
mass produced turkeys
when i ate turkey
i liked drumsticks, dark meat
now bred out, all gone
how can fall be
so dark at noon that i must
turn on all the lights
this fall so cold
i wear hats inside all day
and a hat to bed
Labels:
Akua Lezli Hope,
cold,
fall,
haiku,
hats,
thanksgiving,
turkeys
Thursday, November 20, 2008
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
much as i love paper
all that lasts is stone
carve my poems there
israels past reign
mythic fragments carved in stone
biblical proof
sidewalks glisten
where snow under sun melted
but not on my ramps
the cat wants to go
outside white snow dirties grass
he rushes back in
hope walks a tightrope
recycled clintonites rise
please make us anew
much as i love paper
all that lasts is stone
carve my poems there
israels past reign
mythic fragments carved in stone
biblical proof
sidewalks glisten
where snow under sun melted
but not on my ramps
the cat wants to go
outside white snow dirties grass
he rushes back in
hope walks a tightrope
recycled clintonites rise
please make us anew
Labels:
Akua Lezli Hope,
cat,
Clinton,
D.C.,
sidewalks,
Washington,
winter
Monday, November 10, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
too soon grey darkens
cat rushes into opened door
snow whitens ramp
sidewalks glistens
flakes sigh and sizzle
melting as they fall
the closest planks
are deep brown from wetness
why are the others white?
today i heard Miriam Makeba died
i cried and cried and cried
called my sister to share tears
cat rushes into opened door
snow whitens ramp
sidewalks glistens
flakes sigh and sizzle
melting as they fall
the closest planks
are deep brown from wetness
why are the others white?
today i heard Miriam Makeba died
i cried and cried and cried
called my sister to share tears
Labels:
Akua Lezli Hope,
haiku,
Miriam Makeba,
planks,
ramp,
snow
Sunday, November 2, 2008
November 2, 2008
five p.m. now six
above a pale scoop of moon
in still pale blue
rusty leaves quiver
a distant roar in the quiet
contrail white powder blue sky
i say his name
cat comes to me
his tail wide with pleasure
blue gloves clutch rails
roll down steep ramp
uneven ground
driveway moment
dark comes the same time
the same time is sooner
now is later
Labels:
Akua Lezli Hope,
daylight savings time,
fall,
haiku,
poéme,
poems,
poetry,
time
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