Coffee.

Coffee.

Drink coffee
Make the bed
Take shower
Put on clothes
Wash dishes
Sweep the floor
Kids' lunches
Off to school

More coffee
Pick up clothes
Do laundry
Pay the bills
Scrub toilet
Mop the floor
Dust dresser
Clean off desk

More coffee
Wipe the fridge
Plan dinner
Check the time
School's over
Pick up kids
Check homework
Start to cook

More coffee
Set out plates
Serve dinner
Can't sit down
More ketchep?
Pass the milk
Wash dishes
Sweep the floor

No coffee

Lock the doors
Close windows
Turn down beds
Kiss goodnight
Turn off lights
Eyes closing
Go to sleep.


Caren E. Salas

The Lies

There are lies people tell us, that we know can't be true.
Still they tell us because that's what they're s'pposed to do.
Go ahead, we are thinking, and say it won't hurt.
Just a pinch, they say rolling the sleeve of our shirt.
We'll take really good care of you. You should be glad.
Now it 's over and see? It wasn't so bad!
Go to hell, we are thinking as we smile through the pain,
And thank them politely, oh, and have a nice day!
I imagine one day, that we'll tire of the sham,
And honestly scream out YOU'RE HURTING ME! DAMN!
But the truth of it is, it won't matter a bit,
If we cry, yell, or haller, scream, shout, or spit,
'Cause the shots, tests and needles never seem to run out,
And they have to be given, with a lie or without.


Caren E. Salas

Questions in the Dark

When did the sun set?
How did the drought start?
Where did my faith go?
What happened to my heart?

What is this dark place?
How did I get here?
Where is my comfort?
Why's there no hope here?


Caren E. Salas

Well, the optimism was nice while it lasted...

A New Day

In an effort to face the days to come in a more positive light, I started writing down some goals, things to think about, ideas to strive for...I need to print them out and tape them up some where so I can be reminded that no matter how dark it gets, there is a light, somewhere out there. There is hope, even if it may not be blatently obvious.

THINK POSITIVE

READ AND WRITE WHENEVER THERE'S TIME

EAT HEALTHY, DRINK (BUT NOT TOO MUCH :)

SING AND DANCE

SCHEDULE TIME WITH FRIENDS

FALL IN LOVE, AGAIN

ASK FOR HELP WHEN NEEDED

CONCENTRATE ON WHAT'S IMPORTANT

RELY ON GOD

BELIEVE IT'S POSSIBLE.











Caren E. Salas

Here's To Say...

The Work is neverending
The problems pile high
Impossible demands and tasks
Could make a grown man cry.

The hours are exhausting
The battles never cease
There is no chance of resting
There's no white flag of peace.

And yet you soldier on each day
Subject yourself to fire
No shield to protect yourself
No bullet-proof attire.

Armed with only strength of heart
And love to see you through,
A peanut butter sandwich
A briefcase and a suit.

So here's to say I see you
And the struggles that you live
The sacrifices you endure
The love you always give.

And here's to say I love you
And as crazy as it seems
The years of tears and laughter
Have surpassed my wildest dreams.

Caren E. Salas

for Bill, Happy Birthday Honey!!

Therapist

Warm hands

Caring heart

Gentle voice

Healing Touch.

Fix the body

Ease the pain

Calm the soul

It means so much.

Caren E. Salas

Summer's Children

Running,
Jumping,
Minds releasing
from too much school.

Splashing,
Laughing,
Fingers pruney
from too much pool.

Tanned
And happy,
Faces beaming
from too much sun.

Hungry,
Comfy
Bodies tired
from too much fun.



Caren E. Salas

Gray

Sometimes I feel so lost, as though the most I can do is survive from day to day. Everything seems gray and dismal. Then, I write. As the words flow from my hands to the page, or to the screen, a little of the pain inside of me goes with it. This purging keeps me sane, or at least keeps me from falling. It's a balancing act. I stand on one foot on the tightrope between Black and White, precariously lingering in the Land of Gray. On one side is hope and the other is the abyss. Sometimes I wobble, sometimes not. Sometimes the Black seems inviting, like a rest from the constant struggle. Sometimes the White seems unattainable, but after all it is hope. So I hold on, and stay here in the Gray.

Caren E. Salas

You don't - I don't

You don't have to be a poet
To say the words "I love you".
I don't have to be asleep
To say that I dream of you.

You don't have to be a scholar
To read the things I write.
I don't have to be a child
To want you to hold me tight.

You don't have to know the music
To dance along with me.
I don't have to be an artist
To imagine what I see.


You don't need to have the answers,
If you see me fall apart.
I don't have to have the words
If you'll listen to my heart.


Caren E. Salas

The Maze

Around each stony corner
Each dark and silent turn
Is a question I can't answer
A secret I can't burn.

Dreams that go unnoticed
Hope that's now decayed
Faith that goes unnurtured
Passions never played.

I grope in utter blindness
For something I can hold
A word to bring me comfort
A shelter from the cold.

Yet like a maze eternal
My path leads into night
No glimpse of moon or morning
No happy end in sight.

Caren E. Salas

Overcast

Not sunny
Not stormy
Not snowy
Not rainy
Not windy
Not cold
Not hot
Not anything...but gray.

Not green
Not purple
Not blue
Not yellow
Not pink
Not black
Not white
Not anything...but gray.

Not happy
Not sad
Not angry
Not surprized
Not excited
Not thinking
Not interested
Not anything...at all.

Caren E. Salas

Step by Step

Step by step
Soft and wet

Footprints left behind

Surf and sand

Land and sea

Poems to unwind

Pebbles, stones

Ocean foam

Life inside a shell

Seagulls cry

Sky so blue

Stories yet to tell.

Caren E. Salas

She Lives

Whenever I'm tempted,
to give into the pain
roll up in a ball
to whine and complain,

I look to my friend
for whom "can't" is no answer.
She acts like an angel,
and fights like a panther.

Nothing's impossible
too much or too far.
When I'm lost in the dark,
she's my shining star.

She dreams and she dares
She loves and she gives
She faces the darkness
She hopes...and she lives.

And though sometimes she feels
that her efforts are small
She's my hero,
my inspiration,
and my friend, above all.


Caren E. Salas


for Becky :)

Mine

Soft and swirling waves,

No two patterns are the same

Fingerprints of mine.

.

.

.

Caren E. Salas

Tasting Happy

I can taste it in popcorn

I get at the fair

as the thick scent of butter

floats in the air

I can taste it in sandwiches:

P B and J

on soft, fresh bread

like mom used to make.

I can taste it in waffles

from the village cafe

watching ships in the harbor

as they sail away.

I can taste it in lobster

and remember a dream

when I feasted like royalty
down by the sea.

I can taste it in chocolate

in moments of bliss

when my love is awaiting
a sweet good-night kiss.

Caren E. Salas