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Victor D López May 2020
I need a reset button for my life,
A chance to chart a course on a blank slate,
Unplant the seeds that blossomed pain and strife,
And brought a bitter harvest to my plate.

I walked by open doors that closed behind,
With eyes fixed only forward on my course,
Trying to do what’s right, I’ve been unkind,
Attempts to avoid pain just made it worse.

I should have explored many other paths,
That led to orchards that would bear sweet fruit,
My solitary one has led to wrath,
The seeds I planted would themselves uproot.

What use is wisdom when it comes too late?
There is no reset button to cheat fate
I've completed my first novel. It deals with themes that have hit too close to home. The bittersweet pain of so many could-have-beens come to the surface in fiction that too closely emulates life. If only we could rewrite our own lives--make different choices, walk through the many doors that remained open in our youth that we ignored blindly trudging on what we mistakenly believed to be the right path. What would I give to be able to rewrite the novel that is my life and find happy endings for myself and all I've touched? What would I give to unring bells that should never have been rung? To undo pain to loved ones brought not by malice but by misguided good intentions? That may well be a future novel in itself--I've already explored the theme and one imperfect technological solution in a novella. We do not have a reset button in life. Thank God we have the power of words and the solace of poetry. They are often the only sword and shield that can stave off despair.
Victor D López May 2020
Hear my new haikus
Sonnets, free verse and blank verse,
At the link below.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s-BIxHWTQ4
Victor D López May 2020
Cherish today the woman you call mom,
Who sacrificed her body and herself for you,
Your fearless champion your entire life,
Her pure love always unconditional.

She who first taught you what it means to love,
And also to distinguish right from wrong,
Taught you to care for other than yourself,
By her example always, not her words.

Your joy her joy for triumphs great and small,
Her anguish hidden for your every fall,
Your first and your most ardent fan in life,
In times you walked in darkness and in light.

Make sure you tell her what she longs to hear,
As often as you can while she still lives,
Not just on Mother's day, but every day,
Some day it will be your only comfort.

There's none so lucky as one whose mom lives,
Love her with all your heart for all she gives.
Victor D López May 2020
Use the YouTube link,
For Spanish/English reading,
Of one of my poems.

https://youtu.be/sLJJvnyGrkQ
You can cut and paste the above link for a short (4 minute) poetry reading in the original Spanish and in my English translation/interpretation of mi recent poem, Mi Canto
Victor D López May 2020
Para oír una lectura de poesía nueva
En español o traducida al español del ingles original,
Entre las que publique en estas paginas,
Puede hacerlo en el siguiente enlace.

https://youtu.be/kkRoyGX1S28
The above URL is to a YouTube video featuring a sampling of my new poetry either written is Spanish or translated into Spanish by me from my English originals. The video runs approximately 19 minutes.
Victor D López Apr 2020
An endless screeching tone, now in both ears,
You cannot know the solace of silence,
Until it is taken away from you.

A billion cicadas that will not die,
Along with high-pitched sirens ever near,
Symphonies translated by a kazoo.

Inoperable tumor in my ear,
Genetic hearing loss on my dad's side,
The joy of music fading, singing too.

Like the vibrant colors of a rainbow,
Stretching over all the oceans on Earth,
Fading to gray, dissolving into black.

My world is dissolving to a shrill hum,
The babbling of a brook, a child's sweet laugh,
A canary's joyful song of courtship.

A gentle autumn breeze rustling dry leaves,
A clock ticking away remaining time,
All but drowned out save for their memory.
Victor D López Apr 2020
If you'd like to hear,
A reading of my new poems,
Click the link below

Cut and paste to your browser:  https://youtu.be/CacB8e-UT_4
The link is to an about a sixteen minute YouTube video that shows several short poems in both English and Spanish read by me with the text of each poem showing via a quick narrated PowerPoint presentation. I needed a break from working from home and this distracted me for a little over an hour--welcomed during the current lockdown. They are cold readings, nothing special. But fun for me at least to create.
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