Early Morn

            Early Morn

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I lay in bed listening

The click of the refrigerator

A flock of yellow-heads swish the sky

An avocado falls through tree branches

An iguana scrabbles across the roof tiles

Josue starts his truck, off to work

The silence of sunlight burns off the fog

I lay thinking how content I am

It makes me feel kind of sad.

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Rumors

            Rumors

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Clouds whisper rumors of rain,

Whisper wisps into puffs whitely

Smatter with dark, lower blackly,

Heavy promise to come. Wind

Picks up rumor, knits it into mumbles,

Weaves stories of remembered storms

Through each leaf and spine, quiver

Tales of green renewal, awakening

A season of uplifted throats, dry,

Gasping into song as first drops pitter.

I stand in speckled sun, mute,

Able to hear only a hint

Of the chorus sung.

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One Might Think

            One Might Think

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One might think

God hated women

The way we are treated

In this Righteous Religious

Powerful Man-country.

They say

God made man and woman;

God made man to rule,

Woman to serve. Powerful man,

So powerful that when he can’t keep

His pecker in his pants, it’s the woman’s fault.

So we serve. We bow and scrape,

Clean up his messes. You know

How men are; they have strong needs,

So turn your head and forgive him.

And for God’s sake, never let him know

You might be smarter than him;

That would be woman’s unforgivable sin.

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Holding Water Moon

            Holding Water Moon

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Sea otter on its back

Floats the world

In a clam shell.

Moon

A sliver of praise

Upturned in its palms.

Walk across the skies

Never spill a drop

Holding water.

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Hard to Be Me

Hard to Be Me      

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It’s hard to be the new girl

In school, on the block, at the office.

Doesn’t get any easier when we get older.

Here we are, strangers, in a tiny colonia

In a village in Jalisco, a dozen

Gringos. That one has long history here,

Others have family connections,

Some hold long-time friendships. I’m

The New Girl, the unknown element.

Someday I’ll have my “place”; I will know

Where I fit. But today, I’m new.

The hallways are confusing.

I’m not sure how to find

My classroom. On what street

Is my new house? All the cubbies

In the tall office building—am I in the right

Building?—confuse me. I feel alone

Like that big-eyed girl in third grade

Who moved to town from South Dakota.

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You’re So Strong

            You’re So Strong

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When tragedy strikes

Even quasi-tragedy,

Such as divorce,

Friends line up,

Smug in their safe roles,

Say, don’t worry,

You’ll get through it,

How wonderful

That you’re so strong.

Sub text:

I saw that one coming.

Thank God I’m not you.

If only she’d been . . .

            Fill the blanks . . .

                        More understanding, sexier, compliant, nicer . . .

Nicer? What the hell does that mean?

And the friends fall away like water.

That’s why you grit your teeth,

Feel like you’ve been patted on the head,

Given a plastic bone;

Go lie down in your corner.

You’re so strong.

What about him?

Doesn’t he have equal blame?

He gets sympathy, casseroles,

Comfort in many guises.

What you want to hear:

I’ll help you.

Go ahead and cry. Tissue?

Wanna go see a movie?

Let’s hang out.

Dinner at five—my house,

No excuses, bring your soggy self.

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Woman

Woman

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I am drunk with summer sun.

My petals, open, reach

Into purple night while stars

Settle into a blanket. I sleep

Smelling your sweat on my skin.

I am fruit, ripe, skin bursting.

I paint dripping juice colors,

Write life-lived harvest, play

The full moon low and slow,

Catch tarrying notes in tangled

Hair to store for later.

Winter lingers beyond allotted days

And though I’ve had babies born

And die in winter, I’ve learned

To settle into the quiet

Beneath fallow snow where grass

And flowers make ready to push forth

Erasing the cold with fresh truth.

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