Aya
August 23, 2018 § Leave a comment
All the doors and windows open,
you left the place where you had lived,
and the home we had together
will be so, so empty of you now.
Today I will celebrate you,
Every day I will celebrate you,
who loved me
In a way I understood.
Nothing Sweet
July 10, 2018 § Leave a comment
It is nothing; ignore the hints
the way my laugh follows yours,
how I watch your mouth as you speak,
and when you have caught me
reaching toward you, attempting to sneak
a trailing touch on your hair
so near to your neck, ear, and cheek.
Nothing comes of a hidden thought
of a secret whispered to no one else,
the boundary lines kept seemingly neat
a certain thing of clear intent
and if I’m sitting at your feet
when close to you, with hopes kept close
it is nothing; it is sweet.
1/18/2011
More Than I Would Want Now
June 15, 2018 § Leave a comment
That’s more than I want now
but it surely looks nice
A lake to swim in, when I’m only
a little thirsty
Beer, when a little bread will do
I don’t need that suite at the Four Seasons
when all I want is your shoulder to lean on
and the scent of you
6/04/2007
Summer’s Day
September 10, 2017 § Leave a comment
His love is like a summer’s day
More lovely than William’s sonnet
Like the restless wind of a woodland glen
And all the scents upon it.
Herbs crushed beneath my step
Only mimic his skin’s perfume
Beneath my lips like raspberries
And sweet as a wild bloom
He is as warm as the sleepy sun
And calm as the afternoon
His embrace is like the comforting silk
Of a moth’s unbroken cocoon
I wish my summer’s day would last
Til May becomes December
But summer days I cannot keep
I only must remember.
5/13/1998
The earth trembled, but only where I stood
August 10, 2017 § Leave a comment
The earth trembled, but only where I stood
And the sky, no longer blue, split a seam
Shivering, I gasped within the fog
As in the moment waking from a dream
Overturned, the basket of the world
Spilled out the messy contents of my head
I leaped for down, but upward made my fall
I reached for peace, and found my love instead
My thoughts spin, and from that spindle drops
A thread of rich and variegated hues
And while I sit here plucking at the knots
To salvage wisps of floss that I can use
Then thread through a needle of my hope
And patch the gaping rends within the skies
The earth trembles — but only where I am
As if the universe has grown in size
11/16/07
Come at me sideways
June 5, 2017 § Leave a comment
Come at me sideways
the way these dark clouds slipped over
sidling up with open intention
and no threat
Ever wonder why I let them?
Why the shadow
is as often as the sun?
Come at me sideways
and keep your hands low, and open
Eye contact is a challenge;
avoid it.
Come at me when I can move
because if I feel trapped
by a single, blocked doorway, if I feel cornered
One of us, or both, will have to be hurt
in my break for freedom to breath.
I’m a woman, but that doesn’t mean
that a wild thing doesn’t struggle in my chest
So easily frightened into rage —
I cross my arms to hold it back.
Don’t speak, not even softly
Don’t ask what is wrong
But if you can leave something to draw me out
maybe, this time
we can do better.
11/26/2011
Persephone’s Regret
March 20, 2017 § Leave a comment
Love me like Persephone
Who sees spring return
And regrets six seeds
hesitantly plucked
When the whole fruit
was in her fair hand…
Love me not.
Small Birds
March 10, 2017 § Leave a comment
Small birds complain in the softly falling rain
too light for the cover of my hood
it falls like a kiss from a friend.
I breath the sweetened air
as I walk uphill
and by the time the rainfall grows
I am walking on the broad way
among the cars and the crows
who never complain, but state.
Black bodies sleek wet or dry
They say a small bird’s egg
would make a fine meal
and pull greasy burger bags,
last night’s trash, from the bins.
Sometimes, I have something to tell you
that does not matter any greater
than the complaints of small birds
or the detritus of the expired night.
So like the crescendo
of this morning’s rain
here is my kiss.
2/11/10
Cris de Borja 