THE HALF MOON AND THE PENNY

THE HALF MOON AND THE PENNY

picking up luck in a cool summer's night 

catching the half moon

wide awake

in the darkness

copper coins for the eyes

polished brightly shine

or maybe they're new

or never have been used

singing crickets in the night

teasing birds who cannot see them

keeping them awake 

in anticipation

in predawn colors

a half moon wide awake

giving rhythm to the singing

from night to morning music

the penny copper morning

a luck to pick up

after catching the half moon

how good it is to be awake

in the darkness

A. MENDOZA, JUNE 2020

NOT

 

NOT

fear 

in understanding

in not

knowledge

as understanding

as not

no reaction

the doing

the accepting

the final reaction

the final knowledge

the final fear

understanding the doing 

and accepting the reaction 

and not fear

A. Mendoza, June 2020

MARKER

MARKER

destruction of silence

and the death of noise

become a graveyard marker

background to well manicured fences

bordered remembrances

so we never forget

keeping them in their places

close to our hearts

destruction of silence

as music 

a death

a noise

covering places 

fenced in 

so we never forget

our markers

A. Mendoza, June 2020

BREEZE

Breeze

not wanting to do anything

even sleep is too much

eyelids too weak to close

thought becomes tiresome

slowing breath conserves strength

darkness is rest for the eyes

just waiting for a breeze

a moon for a light

witnessing stars

in the comfort of night

suddenly the nothingness

and that odd jolt

awakens the open eyes

to silence

starlight witnessing eternity moving

in a single breath

any wanting too much

becoming tiresome thought

resting open eyes

not wanting to do anything

just waiting for a breeze

A. Mendoza

6-10-2020

VALLEY

VALLEY

  

where all the air

and the winds will whip

water and snow to ice

while we sequester in place

where the fires fly over the mountains

smoke painted on backdrops of flame

and a world renewed in death, destruction

defining mortality

rebirthed so living fire may feed again

inhaling wind

exhaling flame

breathing as living things do

where silence is more death than peace

and the sun, the clouds, the mountains

stand apart competing

for a night so they may hide

where under the cover of stars

alone with the moon

wind whispering to the the music of mountains 

with a blanket of clouds

an accusation instead 

of a question

do you love

 in the night

it is so hard to see

from the valley

so you must travel

to the mountain

a.mendoza 6-2020

Oomm-lette

Oomm-lette

in the meditation of words

 the joy of cooking

as even a clumsy cook knows

you have to breaks eggs

those magic vessels so compleat in their shells

words contained whole

that beg to be broken

those syllables to make sounds for the mind

and become food for the soul

 music when baked or steamed

or grilled in a broiler

not to be touched awaiting the moment

as the mad man waits for words

the anticipation of flavours

A. Mendoza, October 2019

middle

MIDDLE

to discover how weak you are

from the middle of your  strength

the solid middle

gathering through love 

the witness of your soul

in circles surrounding like shadows

making the light bright like a gauze etching

beneath a watercolor

to discover how strong you are

from the middle of your weakness

a solid middle 

the soul your witness 

of etched shadows 

awaiting color

is it fading shadow

or is it fading light

we see in the middle

witnessing through gauze

how easy it is

to be surrounded by the middle

A. Mendoza, September 2019

Roll

ROLL

there's an itch

in the back of my head

marbles rolling around

when I shake it 

from side to side

until the cobwebs

become a net

sewing tighter into a mesh

forming a fabric

of itchy marbles

beady glass that squints

in a darkness that rises

to the ripples forming

a shaken cobweb

the tightened net

of mesh of marbles

in a rising darkness

 no longer needing to squint

 it is so easy to simply

roll side to side

A. Mendoza, Sept 2019

An Opposite of Music

An Opposite of Music

a carafe of coffee steaming

the water for tea boiling

sometimes making up your mind is not an option

the familiar color

and comfort of aromas

 surrounded and comforted

glass reveals the familiar

not twin

no duality

missing a janus entanglement

a breeze and scent

paired yet separate

an opposite of music

A. Mendoza, Sept 2019

MUSIC

MUSIC

the bemusement in the eyes

and the pain as the witness

repressed emotions boil over

heated by shame

fuel of memories love

when I was called a good man

when I was told I was loved

completeness that smile,  that joy

now stoked by humiliation

until those embers become ashes

like the ashes of the loved

the bemusement as wind

to witness in horror

how casual that dismissal

of such treasures

by a single breeze

now only a convenience

and casual enjoyment

where once the soul

recited that music

A. Mendoza, 2019