When the great orb has faded from the sky
And Artemis glows silver with her bow
And all the flow'rs' bright plumage seems to die
And all earth slumbers, unaware of foe-
That silent presence that penetrates all
And poisons dreams so sweet with bitter bile
And causes the unwary one to fall
Into a pit of bitterness and guile-
Then does Apollo's chariot of flame
Rise o'er the horizon in vic'try
With fiery shield to cast away the name
So whispered in the Grecian mystery.
And ever will this cycle never cease
'Til all worlds shall perish in burning peace.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Thursday, October 31, 2013
A Walk
Mist rises in a mass
of silver and grey,
obscuring the path
that I know so well.
Vague outlines
of moss-covered boulders
and trees' bare branches
come up sharply
out of the silver haze.
The ground is soft
beneath my feet
and I leave my matching
imprints behind me
in the hastily fading path.
The sky above has been
concealed by a rough fabric
of interwoven branches.
Moonlight struggles down
in dappled beams of silver
and white, uneven on the trail.
I take a deep breath
of the crisp night air
and exhale, my small cloud
of white joining with
the shrouding vapors.
of silver and grey,
obscuring the path
that I know so well.
Vague outlines
of moss-covered boulders
and trees' bare branches
come up sharply
out of the silver haze.
The ground is soft
beneath my feet
and I leave my matching
imprints behind me
in the hastily fading path.
The sky above has been
concealed by a rough fabric
of interwoven branches.
Moonlight struggles down
in dappled beams of silver
and white, uneven on the trail.
I take a deep breath
of the crisp night air
and exhale, my small cloud
of white joining with
the shrouding vapors.
Monday, September 23, 2013
My Grandma's Quilt
Perfect black stitches
zig zag and cross in
perfect perpendicular seams,
corralling eccentric bursts
of mismatched color
and blocks of pattern
with a teal edge.
Yet somehow it fits together
like puzzle pieces
or knowing intuitively
the correct answer
or which path to turn on
or putting together an
outfit just so.
This, this window of fabric
and seams and thread
and pigment
broken and shattered
scattered in a hundred
different forms
hanging above the banister-
a portal to my ancestors.
zig zag and cross in
perfect perpendicular seams,
corralling eccentric bursts
of mismatched color
and blocks of pattern
with a teal edge.
Yet somehow it fits together
like puzzle pieces
or knowing intuitively
the correct answer
or which path to turn on
or putting together an
outfit just so.
This, this window of fabric
and seams and thread
and pigment
broken and shattered
scattered in a hundred
different forms
hanging above the banister-
a portal to my ancestors.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
The Most Beautiful Days
Puddles here and puddles there
Raindrops catching in my hair
Sparkle and glitter by my eye
As I gaze up to an overcast sky
Umbrella forgotten in the slippery road
I twirl around in the street, a wordless ode
To the beautiful clouds, so inky above
And the shower of joy that I so love
When clouds recede and puddles are dry
My last bow reaches across the sky
Glowing in all its radiant glory
And all the world in perfect harmony
Raindrops catching in my hair
Sparkle and glitter by my eye
As I gaze up to an overcast sky
Umbrella forgotten in the slippery road
I twirl around in the street, a wordless ode
To the beautiful clouds, so inky above
And the shower of joy that I so love
When clouds recede and puddles are dry
My last bow reaches across the sky
Glowing in all its radiant glory
And all the world in perfect harmony
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Insecure
You are like the leaf
that trembles
and falls
at a breath of the wind
tumbling down
and landing perfectly
on the liquid mirror below.
that trembles
and falls
at a breath of the wind
tumbling down
and landing perfectly
on the liquid mirror below.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Saturday Market
I take a deep breath
and a million scents
waft towards my open face:
Freshly baked breads,
savory meats,
light fragrant flowers,
sharply perfumed spices,
sweet kettle corn.
Colors whirl around me,
an oasis in the middle
of dark grey offices.
Vibrant reds, pulsing indigo,
radiant yellows, verdant emerald.
Tinkling charms
and trinkets
reach my ears,
hoarse voices calling out prices
and offers
with the upbeat guitar
and drums
to complete the melody.
Soft fabrics run through my palm
like a river through a valley.
A cold pendant rests
on my chest,
sending shivers up my spine
and down to my toes.
Young children splash
in the center of a fountain
crying out with adolescent joy.
I close my eyes,
and soak up all the motion
swirling around me,
lost in the beauty
of the marketplace.
and a million scents
waft towards my open face:
Freshly baked breads,
savory meats,
light fragrant flowers,
sharply perfumed spices,
sweet kettle corn.
Colors whirl around me,
an oasis in the middle
of dark grey offices.
Vibrant reds, pulsing indigo,
radiant yellows, verdant emerald.
Tinkling charms
and trinkets
reach my ears,
hoarse voices calling out prices
and offers
with the upbeat guitar
and drums
to complete the melody.
Soft fabrics run through my palm
like a river through a valley.
A cold pendant rests
on my chest,
sending shivers up my spine
and down to my toes.
Young children splash
in the center of a fountain
crying out with adolescent joy.
I close my eyes,
and soak up all the motion
swirling around me,
lost in the beauty
of the marketplace.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Invisible Children
Recently, a four-day event took place in Los Angeles, California at the UCLA campus. This event was called Fourth Estate Summit. During this conference, 15,000 young adults attended to listen to several inspirational speakers such as Jay Naidoo, Jolly Grace O. Andruville, Maryam Elarbi, Jamie Tworkowski, Jason Russell, Jedidiah Jenkins, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, and Dale Partridge. What was so inspirational? The organization entitled Invisible Children. This organization is dedicated to the eradication of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda and bringing the LRA's leader, Joseph Kony, to justice for his crimes.
In 1986, a woman named Alice Lakwena of the Acholi tribe in northern Uganda gained support for an uprising against the government under Yoweri Musevini called the Holy Spirit Movement. However, when Lakwena was exiled, the HSM had no obvious leader. Joseph Kony, claiming to be a distant cousin of Lakwena's, claimed and enforced his leadership.
Soon after Kony came to power over the HSM, he changed the name to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). With little support of the LRA, Kony began to steal food and children from villages to supplement his army. These children who are abducted from their homes are forced to serve as child soldiers- trained to kill the enemy, no matter if friend or family- and the girls are used as sex slaves for Kony's officers.
Because of the threat of Kony's abductions, the children are forced to leave their homes at night, when the abductors come, and flock towards cities and hospitals for safety.
It was this world that Jason Russell, Laren Poole, and Bobby Bailey discovered when they went to Sudan to document the war and society. When they found out about the children having to leave their homes at night- night commuters- the three young college students interviewed them and promised to come back and stop the LRA's destructive practices.
Today, because of the combined efforts of the three young men, the organization Invisible Children has been able to hamper the LRA's progress and reunite the abducted children with their families.
On March 5 of last year, Invisible Children launched a 30- minute video called Kony 2012 that caught the attention of the globe. because of it, there has been an increased desire and effort to bring Kony and his commanders to justice and free the women and children that have been displaced and abducted because of him.
Now, Invisible Children's new project is called #zeroLRA. Their goal is to have as many LRA defects as possible through radio broadcasts and dropping flyers in Central Africa. As of August 6 of this year, 96 members of congress signed on to #zeroLRA and committed to the eradication of the LRA.
"Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army have been abducting, killing, and displacing civilians in East and central Africa since 1987. We first encountered these atrocities in northern Uganda in 2003 when we met a boy named Jacob who feared for his life and a woman named Jolly who had a vision for a better future. Together, we promised Jacob that we would do whatever we could to stop Joseph Kony and the LRA. Invisible Children was founded in 2004 to fulfill that promise." ~ invisiblechildren.com
For more information on Joseph Kony and Invisible Children, go to http://invisiblechildren.com/. To donate to this cause, visit http://invisiblechildren.com/donate/. To help support #zeroLRA, go to http://zerolra.invisiblechildren.com/.
In 1986, a woman named Alice Lakwena of the Acholi tribe in northern Uganda gained support for an uprising against the government under Yoweri Musevini called the Holy Spirit Movement. However, when Lakwena was exiled, the HSM had no obvious leader. Joseph Kony, claiming to be a distant cousin of Lakwena's, claimed and enforced his leadership.
Soon after Kony came to power over the HSM, he changed the name to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). With little support of the LRA, Kony began to steal food and children from villages to supplement his army. These children who are abducted from their homes are forced to serve as child soldiers- trained to kill the enemy, no matter if friend or family- and the girls are used as sex slaves for Kony's officers.
Because of the threat of Kony's abductions, the children are forced to leave their homes at night, when the abductors come, and flock towards cities and hospitals for safety.
It was this world that Jason Russell, Laren Poole, and Bobby Bailey discovered when they went to Sudan to document the war and society. When they found out about the children having to leave their homes at night- night commuters- the three young college students interviewed them and promised to come back and stop the LRA's destructive practices.
Today, because of the combined efforts of the three young men, the organization Invisible Children has been able to hamper the LRA's progress and reunite the abducted children with their families.
On March 5 of last year, Invisible Children launched a 30- minute video called Kony 2012 that caught the attention of the globe. because of it, there has been an increased desire and effort to bring Kony and his commanders to justice and free the women and children that have been displaced and abducted because of him.
Now, Invisible Children's new project is called #zeroLRA. Their goal is to have as many LRA defects as possible through radio broadcasts and dropping flyers in Central Africa. As of August 6 of this year, 96 members of congress signed on to #zeroLRA and committed to the eradication of the LRA.
"Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army have been abducting, killing, and displacing civilians in East and central Africa since 1987. We first encountered these atrocities in northern Uganda in 2003 when we met a boy named Jacob who feared for his life and a woman named Jolly who had a vision for a better future. Together, we promised Jacob that we would do whatever we could to stop Joseph Kony and the LRA. Invisible Children was founded in 2004 to fulfill that promise." ~ invisiblechildren.com
For more information on Joseph Kony and Invisible Children, go to http://invisiblechildren.com/. To donate to this cause, visit http://invisiblechildren.com/donate/. To help support #zeroLRA, go to http://zerolra.invisiblechildren.com/.
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