Jade-Pandora

1   where e'er you may live   be the spirit of the wind for both young & old 2   take care of each one   who has touched your heart & soul   and has lifted you 3   free one from anguish   the year was grim for many   that one will free you 4   my simple wishes   like smooth pebbles on the shore   come and be the wave 5   take these pebbles for   creatures that run, fly and swim   they carry you too 6   for the plants and trees   and know that earth will thank you   with the air we breathe 7   both the rain that falls   and the snow on mountain peaks   be the clouds that guide 8   while the shadows pass   be the seagull's lonely cry  

I wore a yellow dress my first night in the social whirl of the City of Light. J'ai porté une robe jaune pour ma première nuit dans le tourbillon social de la Ville Lumière. To shine where love's one night stand would see me because I was too naive to notice. Briller une nuit là où l’amour me verrait car j'étais trop naïve pour le remarquer. I walked in satin pumps with heels so high my ankles shivered even though the evening was warm, and I had no wrap. J'ai marché dans des souliers de satin avec de si hauts talons mes chevilles ont frissonné même si la soirée était chaud

Her great-great grandmother was the first,   An original of the Nation, of   Her people, of her village in her youth. The men were ever awed of this girl child,   Whose mother was proud, and whacked the backsides   Often and hard with a willow switch,   Of man and boy, no matter what their name Be it Dog, or Bear, or something more rare   Like Hunts Plenty, or Runs Down Enemy.   Nothing came close to the Chief's daughter's name   That came to everyone's voice with the dawn. And as a young woman, her stride across   The camp in leggings fringed while going through     The pony herd to bathe, and well aware     Of those who would hide in wai

Sounds of my frantic sandal'd footsteps on the flat-stone and gravel road with each lunge of my linen-clad body, in agony from efforts and gasps. This citizen's grown fat from the wine; a bottle a day, respectably, and out of shape for this sort of clime. My slave's in Herculaneum by now. The fumes are sucked deep into my lungs, (an artisan's bellows of his craft, who's hands shaped clay for the kiln's fire) as sky blackens day in its nightmare. While those of us who still can, jostle like jockeys, racing closer towards the horseshoe bay's shoreline where boats await. While overhead, the solemn silent silt of ash floating down, white as s

The cousins of our home, the trees   Have man to thank upon their knees   For over time destroying all   That trees were guarding from the fall. Of how they kept the history   From turning into mystery   Within the rings their bodies stored,   The loss of which we can't afford. Despite the treasure trove of trees,   The high rise place for birds & bees,   The gentle giants' ev'ry breath   Gives humans life instead of death. But human kind since biblical   Have long cut the umbilical.   For idol gods & sacrifice   Man laid them waste for war & vice. Though often living side by side   While giving food & rest abide,   So few would heed th

Lawd, that boy had a set on him, Eatin' corn through a picket fence If he had half a mind to try. Followin' the breeze of my skirt, He watched me sidle up the steps, And come close to seein' Christmas. He'd mutter underneath his breath, "I'd run with the big dawgs for you." And ev'er time I'd let him near, That's just exactly what he'd do When it'd come time to kissin' me. Each time, be dissin' family. And that's the way it was with us. It wasn't clear just who knew what, But ev'er cousin and their blood Was bound to cross the line just once. Well-meaning, interfering folk Was always pullin' us aside, "No right to carry on that way And ge

In the middle of night before,       I awoke to the sound of rain       In what seemed like a sated roar       Of their deep voices, of their stain. 'Twas a dream in my half-aware,       I questioned its validity.       Then dozed off like it wasn't there,       This weather-beaten mystery. Then yesterday passed like my thoughts,       Adrift, clouds hid daylight away.       I watched what the weather had wrought,       Then fell back to sleep where I lay. The afternoon walked in on me       And claimed "It's been raining, y'know."       I vaguely looked over to see,       And murmured "I want you to go." The day turned away as it sighed,

Night's engorged corpse's maw spews forth     Sudden rider's dread appearance     As its steed's terror arch and pitch     Overwhelms with stench of sulfur, In voices deep & black as death,     As if from ev'ry host and storm,     Resound in ancient glory raised,     'Tis I, the rider, back from Time: "Beware, it will be ever known     That I am Devil, Satan's own,     Of Lucifer's originals. Of those who fell to follow him     And pass it on to souls like you,     That his is Truth, the Way, the Life     Fore'er in death and well beyond. That I, his Messenger elect,     Am but the only one who comes,     Not what was told would be the Ch

They rattle through the aged house,   The echoed calls through arteries.   The labyrinth leading from its bowels,   The iron heating in the core   Where beat its heart now long gone cold. But as the autumn and the rain   Is rolling through and sinking in   To claim the rafters and the walls,   Was how the rattle came to be,   The autumn whistling down the halls. But what of all the guests who stayed   When holidays would welcome them,   To sample of its luxuries?   The strolls through gardens manicured,   The games played on the emerald lawn. Then came the evenings' dining fare   Of duck and quall and Guinea fowl,   The roast

The village folk had duly made A worthy build of lumber stacked At center place of public square Where all who came would see her there. A woman not of tender years But comely handsome in her prime. Her flowing hair, the crucifix, Would soon be smold'ring candle wicks. And as the morning sun arose The prisoner, escorted thus Was jeered at by the jostled crowd That started chanting, each aloud: "Burn the witch! Burn the witch!" they said, "Stoke flames until she's proper dead!" The woman robed in black did bow Before her arms and torso tied To limbless tree trunk, tall & straight That held her to a burning fate. The village broke out in a

in the sparkle-sound of rain I hear your voice as the day-crows return bickering to tangled nests