Friday, July 24, 2020

HOW MANY

I feel like we have just begun,
To count up all the costs
And how many times
We'll have to say,
"I'm sorry for your loss,"

Caren E. Salas

Thursday, July 23, 2020

STRANGE

Lately I've been feeling strange
As though I should say good-bye
Like I should tell my story
Before it's too late to try.
And I should show as much love
As my heart has strength to give,

And I should spend each moment
Remembering moments lived.
I see so much that's ending
Like innocence, love and peace
Yet things like fear and hatred
Continue to be released.

Lately I've been feeling strange,
Like I'm running out of time;
Things to see, people to meet,
Mountains I want to climb.
Things are coming to an end
Don't know how, or even when

Just a feeling that I have
That I won't be back again.
It's eating me up inside
Gnawing at me day and night,
And nobody will miss me
When I'm gone and out of sight.

Caren E. Salas


Wednesday, July 22, 2020

NATURE'S GIFT



Gazing out the dirty window
Recent rain streaking down
Making stripes of semi-clean view
I saw a rainbow in the distance
I couldn't take my eyes off it:
This band of color in a gray,
Post storm sky, shouting out,
Announcing better days ahead.
Glancing around me, I realized
No one else had noticed.
Focusing on their own lives
And troubles, they had missed it.
Nature had loaned us this gift,
For a brief moment in time,
As the bus just rumbled on.


Caren E. Salas

Sunday, May 24, 2020

AprPAD Day 23 Prompt: Social______

SOCIAL AWKWARDNESS 

I often feel like 
An outsider looking in,
Not allowed to talk.
I'm not supposed to be there; 
Maybe I should just go home.


Caren E. Salas





Sunday, May 17, 2020

AprPAD Day 22 Prompt: quirk



THE COST

It was just a twitch, a quirk,  
A stutter once in a while
He wasn't really worried.
He figured it was the cost,
Of falling madly in love
With someone so wonderful



Caren E. Salas


Saturday, May 2, 2020

AprPAD Day 21 prompt: love/anti-love




BY HEART

There's no love like family
It's unique, crazy, sometimes
Difficult,but always true.
Not just your blood family
But those you've adopted too
Family chosen by heart.


Caren E.Salas

AprPAD Day 20 Prompt: Isolation



ISOLATION

In isolation
My mind begins to wander
Imagining worst
Case scenarios, dire ends
Even dying by myself.

In isolation
All I can think of is you
Being far away
Even though you're not that far
You're not where I can hold you.

In isolation
I hear the echos of life
Growing feint each day 
As time steals special moments
Which will never be returned.


Caren E, Salas

Monday, April 27, 2020

AprPAD Day 19 Prompt: Use these 6 words: Embrace, bump, resolve, lonely, fixture, howl

CREATURE OF THE NIGHT

He woke up in a cold sweat
Startled by the light fixture
Mistaking it for the moon
The full moon he so dreaded
Life is lonely when you are
One who goes bump in the night.

How he longed for her embrace
But their love could never be
With resolve, he vowed to leave
Else fill her life with peril
Broken-hearted, packed his bags
And with a howl, departed.


Caren E. Salas

Sunday, April 26, 2020

AprPAD Day #18 prompt: Message

DEATH BY VOICE MAIL (messaged in haiku)  


Hello, I'm not here
If you want leave a message
But I won't call back

Hello? Are you there?
I hope you get this message
Your car is on fire

Hello, this is - no,
Wait, it's none of your business
You can hang up now

Hi, how're ya' doin'?
You just won a million bucks!
Haha just kidding

Hello? No one's here
But cameras are watching you
They're always watching

Just saying hello
But if you don't call me back
You'll be dead to me



Caren E. Salas



Friday, April 24, 2020

AprPAD Day #17 Prompt: Exotic



ANCIENT STREETS                                      


As I walked the ancient streets
A strange combination of
Auto exhaust and spices
Filled the air, Distant music
Danced through my mind and voices
Whispered unfamiliar sounds.

The sky was growing darker
As I reached the upward path
And lush green grass hid crickets:
My welcoming committee;
But as I reached the entrance
The gate was shut and locked up.

Hundreds of miles I'd traveled
For rocks and stones translated
Thousands of years in the past;
Still I was happy to be
Where goddesses had wandered
As I walked the ancient streets.


Caren E. Salas



Wednesday, April 22, 2020

AprPAD Day 16 Prompt: The Last ______

THE LAST TIME

The last time I saw you
Seems forever ago
The way that I miss you
You can't possibly know.

Only limited minutes
I can see your sweet faces
To hear your laughter
When we're different places.

I pray for an end
For the longing I feel
For when I can hold you
In my arms for real.

The last time I saw you
Didn't know I'd be wrong
Thinking all of this craziness
Would not last this long.

Caren E. Salas




Saturday, April 18, 2020

Friday, April 17, 2020

AprPAD Day 14 Prompt: Form/Antiform


THE POEMS

The poems pick their form...or not
They rhyme or don't, a bit or a lot
The words they choose don't always make sense
Sometimes they're frivolous, sometimes intense
They have a mind of their own I say
But if I'm their slave, then lock me away!


Caren E. Salas


AprPAD Day 13 "purpose"



ON PURPOSE


It's not very hard
And the rewards are worth it
Loving on purpose


Caren E. Salas

Thursday, April 16, 2020

AprPAD Day 12 “Spirit”


SOARING 

My spirit wants to soar
As far as it can go
So high until the sky turns black 
And I’m floating like a dream 
Among the stars. 
Instead I am in shackles 
And earthbound I remain 
Imprisoned by the fear 
Of an adversary 
Who was uninvited, yet busy
Subverting minds
With racism and hate
As well as physical destruction. 
This harbinger of hell
Has overstayed its welcome 
And is starting to annoy. 

My spirit wants to soar
As fast as I can fly
So quick until the sun is high
And I’m burning up 
With life within the fire 
Instead I have been banished 
Tethered by the grief 
Severed by the miles and time 
As well as risk and care 
The murderer of love
Has no passion or concern 
For my what I’m afraid will be 
My immanent demise. 


Caren E Salas 

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

AprPAD Day 11 "Control"

I NEED ANSWERS

I have some questions
For whoever runs this show
Who is in control
Of the lies and omissions
Delays, mistakes and red tape?

Pettiness leaves us
With no real guidance at all
We need answers now!
So stop with the name calling
While numbers are increasing.


Caren E. Salas

Sunday, April 12, 2020

AprPAD Day 10 "The____who____"



THE ONES WHOM I LIVE FOR

I miss those little faces smiling
The eyes that looked at me
Laughter that always fills my soul
Small angels living free
It seems the day will never come
When I again will feel
The warm embrace of tiny arms
That I so much want for real
They're the ones who keep the flames
Inside my heart each day
And why I'll keep on waiting
And in my home I'll stay.


Caren E. Salas


AprPAD Day 9 An Ekphrastic Poem




SHE

Innocent
Naive and carefree
Until he
Fluttering
Shot an arrow through her heart
Tempting her to love.


Caren E. Salas







Painting: 'Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
This has been my favorite painting ever since the first time I saw it many years ago at the Getty Museum (which is now the Getty Villa). It now is exhibited in the newer Getty Center. I have visited it there and look forward to when I will be able to go again.

AprPAD Day 8 The Future





TOMORROW

I've never felt so 
Confused about the future
But these days I wake
And I have no idea
What tomorrow will bring me.



Caren E. Salas

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

AprPAD Day 7 Lucky/Unlucky




NO LUCK

I used to say 
I don't believe in luck 
I make my own plans
Live my own life
But life was jealous
And took what was mine
Again and again
And I found
That my plans 
And my life
Were not my own
But thrown like dice
Dependent on luck
After all, turns out.


Caren E. Salas



AprPAD Day 6 "Trap"

LUNCH

Scrambling for freedom
Meek squeeks of panic and fright
Lunch time for a snake.


Caren E. Salas


AprPAD Day 5 "A Moment"

MORNING

When I wake up each morning
I remember the nightmares
And dreams for a while. Slowly
I wake, knowing what is real,
But try as I might, I can't
Make myself go back to sleep.


Caren E. Salas

Sunday, April 5, 2020

AprPAD Day 4 "Wish"

WISH

I wish I could fly 
Far away from here and now 
To where there's no fear

Caren E. Salas


Saturday, April 4, 2020

AprPAD Day 3 Follow ______




FOLLOW THE DOG

Follow the dog, she knows where to go down
The street and to the left then two more blocks
To the blue house with the red door and green 
Green grass. A right turn takes you all the way
Past the gated yard and the big mean dog 
Who always barks and growls as we go by
The house. Follow the dog but not that one.
She looks at me to make sure I'm still here.
Walking close behind her, she stops and sniffs
The grass, somehow she knows we're almost home.


Caren E. Salas


Friday, April 3, 2020

AprPAD Day 2 "SPACE"



HOME

From far beyond the universe
My soul, a sea of stars
I fell into a galaxy
Swirling in the dark.
And when the spin began to slow
My heart kept spiraling round
Past the planets, comets, moons
I kept on sliding down
To a big blue world, warm and free
With oceans, mountains, plains
With continents and countries
Cities, towns and bays
Until a home cried to my soul
Come to me and stay
Bring all you love and rest with me
And never go away.


Caren E. Salas



photo by William Salas

National Poetry Month Begins! Day #1 - prompt: A New World

I'm so excited that it's April! This year I'm very determined to do Robert Lee Brewer's Poem a Day Challenge. As usual I'm starting a bit behind, but I am really going to try to keep up. Here's the first prompt: "A new world".

MY NEW WORLD                                                

My new world's not a better one
I look for reasons, finding none
The things that should've, just weren't done
And it's no fun, it's just not fun.

My anger's building everyday
I wait to see what next they'll say
They talk like it's an act to play
And that's not okay. it's not okay.

My choices are to stay and cry
Or go outside and maybe die
I wish they'd tell us without lies
The reason why, the reason why.


Caren E.Salas



Friday, March 6, 2020

CHAOS


   I lie awake staring at the ceiling 
The reflections of windshields scrolling 
Across it like anxious spirits
The low rumbling sound of a city bus
Bounces back and forth on the street
Voices float up to my window
Laughter, arguments, a child crying
A policeman's whistle chirping warnings
To any tempted to wreak havoc nearby
A cacophony of automotive dissonance
Bass heavy anthems blasting in stereo
Horns honking, tires screeching, gears shifting

Then...a moment of peace...
And the rain...the rain, like a lullaby...softly hums

Until the chaos commences again.

Caren E. Salas







                                                                               






Tuesday, February 11, 2020

The Last Page

The last blank page of my journal seemed so
Naked inside a book filled with scribbles
And stickers, magazine pictures pasted
Next to fortunes from cookies, random quotes,
A hospital bracelet, thrift store price tag,
A magic playing card: the King of Spades,
Stolen from my magician friend, my love,
Thoughts, frustrations, secrets, memories, words,
Mistakes made, dreams yet to be realized,
But with this poem, my journal's complete.

Caren E. Salas

Photo: http://uncomfortablemoments.blogspot.com/2011/01/dear-diary.html

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Blades




Pelicans gliding 
Like blades across the glassy
Surface of the sea

Caren E. Salas

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

ONE MORE

One more story to tell
One more kiss or embrace
One more meal we could share
One more look at your face.

One more hand holding moment
One more day in the sun
One more garden to tend
One more chore to be done.

One more mountain to climb
One more sunset to see
One more road to discover
One more evergreen tree.

One more mist trail to travel
One more waterfall drop
One more river to cross
One more bend to the top.

One more ride to enjoy
One more place to explore
One more dream of tomorrow
Filled with more, than "one more".

One more thought to remember:
That your love will endure
Surrounding me always
Until I see you once more.


Caren E. Salas


Jack R. Robinson 4/29/1930 - 12/29/2019