Friday, May 18, 2012

Two and a Half Hours

The two and a half hour car trip seemed like
An epic journey when I was seven.
The mountain roads weaving around each curve
Made my stomach dizzy. The only lights
Were the headlights of the few passing cars
Brave enough to be on these roads at night.
I tried not to cry. I tried not to think.
I just held onto my special pillow
And prayed as hard as I could, staring out
Into the black and wishing I could fly.


Caren E. Salas

(for Grandma Bustos)

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Ugly Bones



She hated this part:
Cleaning up the left-overs
Ripping the meat off
Trying not to get the fat
Leaving no morsel behind.

She licked her fingers
Staring at her reflection
Staring back at her
From the large kitchen window;
Finished, she turned off the light.


Caren E. Salas



Robert Lee Brewer's Wednesday prompt this week: Take the title of a book, change one word and make that the title of your poem. I choose "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold, and changed it to "The Ugly Bones." Without getting creepy or morbid, I wrote this...

Photo: http://www.sloopin.com/2010/07/chicken-bone-problem.html

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Relax

Stop
Breath
Relax
Be silent
Eyes closed, calm your mind.
Rest; tension will give way to peace.
Paradise awaits inside your imagination.

Caren E. Salas

photo by William Salas

Friday, May 4, 2012

After It's Over

After weeks of rehearsal, long days, late
Nights, learning lines, music, dance steps, blocking,
Opening night arrives with lights, applause,
And dreams come true. Yet before we knew it,
We were making our final bows, curtain
Falling; fade to black.  We held each other,
Hoping the moment would last, but knowing
The next day, there'd be a void, an empty 
Space, restless energy with no release...
While we waited for the next audition.

Caren E. Salas 


Robert Lee Brewer's Wednesday Prompt: vacuum: however you want to interpret that.  I thought of a void, black hole kind of thing, and I remembered what it felt like every time a show I was in closed. We all got "post play blues" until the next one came along. This is dedicated to all my crazy theater friends! (Special thanks to my friend Robin Harrison for finding this picture from "A Chorus Line". - I'm second from the end on the right side.)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Fading Away...



Memories that once were
So clear, and so colorful,
Now seem fuzzy, and grey;
Little by little, drifting
Away, 'til they fade...to black.

Caren E. Salas



Day 30 of April's Poem a Day Challenge: a "fading" poem 
photo by William Salas

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

I Can See it on Your Face


The news can't be good. I can
See it on your face, that look
Of pity, sympathy, dread.
Just don't say everything will
Be okay, 'cause I can tell,
Things will never be the same.

Caren E. Salas



Day 29 of April Poem a Day. Prompt: Take a phrase or theme from a previous poem this month and write a poem based on that. "I can see it on your face" from the poem "Condescension"  (Day 22).