Splintered

I stand determined
With feet planted
A long-handled ax
The helve smooth in my hands
I raise it over my head
Bring it down with force
A great overhead arc
Makes contact with the door
I am aware my anger
Is as strong as the steel blade
Again and again I strike
My chest heaves with the effort
Leaving the walls gaping
Again and again I strike
My arms ache with the effort
Leaving this hideaway
Shattered and splintered
The way my family
Was splintered
There can be no hiding
Behind broken walls

 

Flawed Trust

The flaws in our family life
Are like pulled carpet threads
Overlooked in their familiarity
Still part of a colorful tapestry

The truth in our stories
Seeks a home of forgiveness
Sheltering arms to have and to hold
Where failure and judgment do not share a bed

The realities we create
Are tested against each other
We come undone, then together
Open wounds and open arms

The bones of our fathers
Lie in sacred ground
Ensouled by voices that speak to us
Only in our dreams

Rivers flow with random questions
As we seek to reclaim a past that is ours
Almost lost under the gaze
Of ancient and knowing trees

My Hometown

We the people watched in horror
As Serve and Protect dropped to its knees
Our trust snapped and flailing like a live wire
Thrashing on the ground, sparking outrage

We the people refused to be placated
With excuses and empty promises of change
This time we lifted the curtain on the Show of Force
By filming our realities without edit

We the people cried out for our mamas
Our sons, our fathers and daughters
Our neighbors, our friends
And we answered with, “Never again!”

We the people lit fires so we could be seen at night
And stood shoulder to shoulder during the day
Forcing you to see because you would not hear
Our need for a more perfect union, and to establish justice

The Circle of Love

I nursed my babies, watched them
Fall asleep, their hands cupping
My breast, face flushed, molded
Against me as we drowsed in a
Tangle of sheets and pillows.
I listened to them breathe
And whispered I love you

Years later I lay with my mother
Arms around her frail body, her
Hands cold as she drowsed from
The morphine, taking her last
Rattling breaths.  I leaned close
Telling her it was okay to go
And whispering I love you

Later still with my daughter,
Lights low during an concert encore,
All alone in a sea of thousands
Her arms around my neck,
Cheek to cheek, she sang
I still love you more than anything...

Oasis

Commitments we create for ourselves
Deadlines others impose on us
Leave us little time to nourish our soul

Creating a desert of the heart
We rush, stirring up dust
Grit in our teeth, unpleasant
And yet we convince ourselves we must
Keep on, so we react with impatience when

We have created our own famine
That stretches our skins so thin
We have no more tolerance
We hunger for an oasis
Without realizing it is not a place