June 9th-10th, 2020

In the House on Woodland Road – Love Weaved in Many Molds
It Came when Two Little Girls heard a Woman’s Voice Announce, “I Have a Surprise for You,”
And Sitting on the Fireplace – there was a Videotape, and it Showed Tigger’s Smiling Face
The Tigger Movie had Just Arrived, much to the parents’ surprise
It Came Again when the Girls Looked in the Cookie Jar, the one Topped with the Smiling Cartoon-Cookie Man
Inside was a Tower of Oreos, Waiting for the Girls to Pull Apart and Lick
Love was there by the TV-set – Shown with a Stack of Madeline Tapes
Love was even by the Bookcase – with a Bing to the Brim of Hardbacks Neither Child could Understand
Seated on a Shelf’s Corner, there rested a Crayola Box – Filled with Crayons to the Tin’s Tip-Top
Love was in the Bedroom, with Crayola Crayons Stockpiled – and Sitting on the Closet’s Ledge
Love was on the Rounded-Rug Below, as the Child Played out a Tick-Timing Clock while Laying on their Back
Love was by the Twin Seat Cushions, as the Girls Bounced from One to Another – and Played Leap Frog Between Each Other
Love was in the Garden’s Grass – seen when one of the Children Pulled Apart Presumed Pickles from the Tree, and Sprinkled them all over her
Love was by the Cats’ Food Bowl, Awaiting a Stray to Walk in and Take a Bite
Love was when the Child walked into the Family Room, and took out the Classic Game Candyland
She Played with her New Puppy till he Crossed the Finish Line, and Declared him Champion
Love was there as the Children went for a Walk in the Backyard, and Saw all the Birds and Conifers
The Birdfeeder Hung, and the Bathwater Rippled, – and they awaited its famished and filthy Aves
Love was there for many years, long before the Children Appeared
And then One Day, the Children came, but all the Love had Died
They Noticed the Dust, and the Cobwebs, and the Chill Attached to the House
They Noticed the Trees Chopped Down, and their Smiles were Lost
They Noticed the Change, and it Made them Very Sad
The House had Lost its old Charm, the Children Fell into Monotony
and the Gems that Once Gave the House its Glow – Would Never Again Come out and Show

September 17th – 18th, 2020

The Tourists are Attracted with Smiles, Laughter, and Photographs Among Each Other
The Men in Blue Vests – They Spy Art, They Glimpse it, & See it Spreading like Wildfire
They Think it’s Message is Meant to be Contained
The People in the Neighborhood – They Distinguish them as Individual Landmarks
The Colors Inside a Kaleidoscope – Sunset Orange, Chocolate Brown, the Rainbows Found Inside SweeTARTS
They Light up the Wall like Imaginary Streetlamps in the Woods of Tahoe
It’s a Place Filled with So Much Beauty, but it’s a Vision that Many Will Never Get to View
Murals – they Speak the Voices of Cultures of the Past, Homes of Today, Ancestral Voices Echo
The Generations of the Future Gaze on Now
Fruits Shared in Baskets – Births, Babies, Nectarines, Coffee Beans, Lentils & Honey Wine, Held in the Painted Woman’s Hands
Eyes See through the Graffitied Concrete, its Too Much for Many to Bear, Some Refuse to Stare, Yet they’d Leave their Mundane Sight Behind if they Did
It’s a Reminder of Oppression, the Portraits Once Blacklisted, the Beauty Once Boycotted
The Colors on the Wall – They Remain Something Many Try to Silence & Quell
But the Murals are a Gift, One that Still Beams in the Optics of the Youth, when their Parents Drive them in the Backseats of Explorers, When They’re Stuck on the Ride to School
It’s a Badge of Home, a Symbol they May or May Not Know, a Mark they Both Love & Hate
The Pictures Spoke Louder than the People