Tag Archives: poetry

war (poem)

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when little boys fight

they kick and push

and pull each other’s hair out

and scream at each other

threatening to call their older brothers

or their fathers

or their mothers

and they promise each other

they’ll never talk again

never play

never share their toys

or secrets

or the little pond in the backyard

or the little frog they caught

or the nice shiny stones they’ve collected

when big men fight (or are they little, like boys?)

they kick and push other men

who can’t kick and push back

because they’re littler than the big men fighting

and they don’t pull hairs

they pull triggers

and they scream at each other silently

through microphones and cameras

and in the newspapers

and they threaten to call down the wrath of God

or Allah

or whoever else is stronger than any of them

and they promise never to talk to each other again

or share their guns and tanks and planes

or secrets

or the little black pools that spout into the air

or the little submarines floating there somewhere

or the shiny yellow stones they’ve collected.

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

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Sonnet: To the One I Love

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No precious metal on this earth e’er found

Can bind the hearts of lovers; never will

The mighty oak stand closer to the ground

Nor seasons changing ever yet stand still;

No summer love eternal e’er stood fast:

Like cryst’line snow it trickles down with time;

Tho’ many try in vain to make time last,

All snowflakes cling to glass and turn to rime.

‘Tis wedded bliss they say that tightly binds

Two lovers’ hearts; but all too soon, alas

They break apart; each lover erstwhile finds

That wedded bliss has all but come to pass.

Ethereal tho’ my love may seem to you,

Defy all time, I will, to prove it true.

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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Sea Song (poem)

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i sit listening to the sea as it sighs

echoing and moaning with mournful cries

i sit watching the sea as it washes the shore

in the same endless rhythm as ever before

i sit watching the sea as it comes rolling in

with white-crested surges that dance and sing

i sit watching a saga of slow song and dance

an unfolding tale of ageless romance

i sit listening to the sea and its song

and i find without knowing, i am singing along.

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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dreaming (poem)

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sitting in the shadows of my room

it isn’t dark at all

by myself i really am not

alone it seems

soft music engulfs me and

thoughts permeate the silence and

you engulf my thoughts

i hear your whispers

all night my dreams are you

and days too

are dreams

i wonder

perhaps too much

that life is all a dream

and then i wish

i’d never wake

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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Mirror (poem)

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i see you

or is it me i see?

i hear you talk

and it sounds like me

or am i merely echoing you

or is it you echoing me?

we can stand together and

but one shadow falls

it’s strange

there’s two of us, you know

and yet there’s only one.

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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between hello and goodbye (poem)

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what comes between hello and goodbye?

what comes after now before then?

how long is it between tonight and tomorrow

or are there any tomorrows?

how much farther is there to go

between two points when they are near;

and how near is near

or far is far

between two points so far

and if they are just so far

then is it really near?

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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shadows (ii) (poem)

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standing between two lampposts

is difficult

you don’t know where your shadow falls

grey shadows overlapping

you can’t tell which one

is really yours

or from which lamp it came

but you know it comes from both.

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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time (poem)

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days slip into nights

and nights are never long enough

there’s always something else

we have to do or

someplace else to go to

it seems

we’ll never find time

for each other

long enough

to know each other

or shall we?

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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Reminiscing (poem)

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remember when we walked the streets

watching the sky and the cars slipping by

counting the lights and the lampposts we met

reading the signs and dragging our feet.

remember when we walked through the rain

laughing at raindrops and catching the flu

splashing in puddles and wetting our shoes

pounding on pavement and slipping in mud.

remember when we ran through the grass

frolicking like children and rolling in dew

chewing the green and picking at weeds

crowning our heads with wreaths of leaves.

remember when we sat quiet in fields

surveying the buildings, basking in moonlight

sharing the silence, competing with fireflies

talking in whispers, waiting for daylight.

and now we sit and share the silence

remembering those days when we were friends

and more.

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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Icarus (poem)

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flying high

i am over my head in air

the sky is brighter

above the clouds

and i don’t seem to care

i’d like to get nearer the sun

if i could

if i could but touch that sphere

but i forget my wings are wax

i forget i’m floating on air

i know i’ve never been this high

though height is a constant fear

but sinking to the depths below

is nothing new to me

what is it then i fear the most?

the light may pierce my eyes

long accustomed to my dark cell

but freedom is the sweetest yet

when you’ve been chained in dark despair

and so i fly higher and hope

the seabed is soft enough

to catch my fall.

 

© Cindy Lapeña, 2012

 

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