SPEAKING SPANISH


I do not speak Spanish,
but (pero) I say-
**** these borders
(chinga las fronteras)
that keep us apart.
~~~
I do not speak Spanish
pero (but) I feel the pain,
know the horrors
caused by
****** (E.E.U.U.) imperialismo.
~~~
I know a few words of Espanol
and I often sound funny,
y people say I speak
with a Yankee accent
(Si', es verdad)
pero in mi corazon (heart)
yo se (I know)
we, all of us,
(todos los gente)
must change the world,
make a communist revolution
and build a better world.

~~written 1.29.12

"NOTE:  Revolution Books, in NYC used to have
a Spanish speaking  open mic. At one of these events, as I listened
to the different poets read their poems, I wrote this and was
asked to read it. The translation is mine.

Hell’s Abyss**

Often I want to join you
in those swirling notes of blue,
the old down low
of ebbs and flow
that cascade like ebony’s glow
and from there and back,
let me “fade to black”.

You always loved to tease,
to take pleasure
in darkened rooms
where demons could
coddle your heart
and take you to their lover’s shack,
while you just let me
“fade to black”.

Oh, you knew how to fight,
you always had the knack
to take my love
then stab me in the back,
sending me to the edge
of hell’s abyss
where with one push
I “fade to black”.

Aztec Warrior/redzone 8.20.16
Note: the quoted lines are from the song:
“Fade To Black” by Dire Straits. Song
is also embedded below.

POEM 22

Looking at Tombaugh Regio,
those heart shaped plains of Pluto,
I am thinking of you.

A five million mile journey,
begun when we were younger
but arriving just in time
to point out my words had already
carved your name
across the tallest ice mountain.

Tonight, I will look to the sky,
smile, and say loudly,
I think of you often,
even if you are so far away.

Aztec Warrior 7.18.15

https://youtu.be/cHg-Zkwndqg

POEM 63
(A Very SERIOUS ‘Y’ Day Poem)


She calls herself
ninjawarriornoodlebumbles,
and she is all that and so much more.
She is a psychological thriller,
a physiological wonder,
a metaphorical super nova
with a heart that beats gold.
While she is way,
we’re talking light years here,
too old for me
and I will never ever
catch up to her zeal and maturity,
I can’t help but have goo goo eyes
and wave at her
at midnight
during a total,
full moon eclipse
as she giggles at my silliness.
Or, maybe it’s just laughter
cause I am so very young.

Aztec Warrior 9.30.15

Note: for a friend, you know who you are!!

POEM 76
Words, Distance, Space*

*I have been thinking lately
about words, distance and space
and the time it takes
for my words to reach you.

Do they become elongated
while traveling through space,
over endless miles
of far away lakes,
forests,
rivers and fields?

Can they navigate over the chasms
made by countless obstacles
and endless nights to
allow for a magical touch?
Will our word fingers embrace
in a waltz
played in Neruda’s tones
and echoing to the world
as we go?

I think Poseidon in the depths
and Venus flying in her orbit
would weave mythical
‘imagical’ stories
if such words conquered
time, distance and space.

Aztec Warrior 10.19.15

TRAPPED
( a friend once said to me they felt 'trapped',
like they held nothing and felt so alone that when they walked
they left no tracks to be seen. Thinking about this, I
wrote this poem)
~~~~
Stepping into shadow,
I can feel its allure;
Its safe place features,
Even though it’s all sinewy.
Blue smoke tension swirls,
Images appear, disappear,
But I am hidden from their meaning.
*
In the distance I hear music.
Rhythmic beats clash
But cannot get through these clouds;
Cannot move my feet.
I am alone in this shadow.
It is a place of safety
Where my feet leave no tracks;
Where my movements
Have no touch.

In the distance,
Just on the other side of this cloudy wall,
I hear you call my name.
My open eyes see only grays,
Blacks,
Some swirling white-
All else is eaten by
I don’t care.

You call out again,
Disturbing my shadow.
“Hey Aztec, are you living?
Or are you dying?
You only get to choose one.”
I don’t wanna choose.
I don’t wanna live.
I don’t wanna die.
Let me just stay here,
Surrounded in grays and
Swirling blacks.  
Here, where my feet leave no tracks.
Here in the comfort of oblivion.
*
Yes, I am dying.
Leave me alone.

Aztec Warrior

POEM 78**
A Crystal Moon

“... deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter
for I would die....”
–Pablo Neruda, ‘Your Laughter’
from, “The Captain’s Verses”, 1972
~~~~

In the sky
your crystal moon
shines on me,
lighting a pathway to you.
But even if your light went out,
I would still find you as
your laughter sings
from mountain tops,
forest glens
and spring cooled streams.
And I hear your laughter say:
“Come to me.
Find me in these meadows
filled with betrayal’s sorrows,
drenched in heartbreak’s melancholia,
and drowned in ocean’s tearful waves.
Come, find me in you.”
~~~~
In the sky
a new moon reflects
in your eyes
as invisible rays
entice me to say:
“Dear one,
let’s climb over these walls,
roam through life mysteries,
and into lilac gardens.
Cocoon us from hurt’s shadows,
and hand in hand, let’s
reach for the stars.”
~~~~
But, in the sky
a crystal moon shines,
it’s beams searching for you,
wondering if your laughter
will be heard again.
~~~~
And I, broken
and lost in the ground,
wonder when I will die.

Aztec Warrior 10.21.15

POEM 36 (Waiting)

Frustrated illusions
roam untamed
and all I can do
is follow them endlessly
waiting for you.

Aztec Warrior 8.2.15

POEM 21 (3) 10W (plus 1)

Chief Joseph stopped fighting,
but never lost a battle.

“Here I fight no more.”
The US gave no mercy.

When the US ceases to be,
we will rejoice forever.

We will show no mercy!

Aztec Warrior 7.18.15

Silence Part 2


I sit thinking,
pen in hand, and wonder
why conversations,
once held,
filled my room
with words, metaphors,
innuendo
have mysteriously disappeared,
seeping innocuously
into the cracks of the wall.
Hidden there, I am unable
to coax them out.

8.18.11

POEM 26 (10W)

Couldn’t stop tonight
without writing you a poem,
sweet friend.

Aztec Warrior 7.27.15

POEM 35 (Etched)

I wish I could forget you.
But tell me,
how do I erase
your name etched on my heart?

Aztec Warrior 8.2.15

POEM 20

T-shirt soaked with frustration
while standing knee deep in apathy
and the way we are unbalanced
by this cultural abyss of life.
Could it be we have lost
the wonderment of awe
that once guided our hands
to paint cave walls?
Or the excitement felt
while looking at the swirl
of a star filled night,
tasting each twinkle
as if it was talking just to us?

Hell,
how many realize
that only 112 years ago
we first stepped into the air of flight,
and already can see
Pluto’s Tombaugh Regio.

So why do we allow
a depraved, me first,
everything for money social norm
unbalance our lives,
demand our conscious mind
be so limited
when we are capable
of so much more?

We already soar beyond the horizons,
why shouldn’t how we treat each other
and our planet
also soar
to such heights?

Aztec Warrior 7.17.15

https://youtu.be/RwUGSYDKUxU

Emotional Flow**
(A Friday night ****)

It was one of those early Spring mornings
when we met.
The sky,
a blue that just got up,
was sprinkled with small fluff clouds,
the kind you can imagine
lions, tigers and rabbits in.
And there you were,
dancing in the morning’s breeze
jiggling, wiggling
in temptation’s sway
that surrounded and pulled me in.
I had to smile out loud
at my foolish, man-ish ways.
~~~
You were wearing one of those
sun dresses,
a bow ribbon
tied on the back lowly;
it swayed slowly
below your waist
in a proud womanly attitude, and a
“you can’t handle me” flow.
~~~
My eyes,
knowing they should keep to themselves,
are taken in by your
irresistibly
sweet attraction;
the quiet storm
of your whiskey tasting
sexuality.
~~~
Floating among these cloud fantasies,
the fire of you
tingles on my tongue,
your sensual flavors
smoothly slide down my skin
leaving me naked
in the emotional flow
of your feminine
****** ecstacy.
~~~
Then
it was one of those Spring nights,
we lay on the still warm grass,
looking at cloudless stars dreaming
their swirling ancient mystery
and haiku;
I pulled you closer, sighing,
my fingers gently playing in your hair,
I whisper,
“sing I forever
the songs of your passion’s love
forever I sing.”

Aztec Warrior/redzone 3.18.16

Odyssey**

There’s a message riding on the sky
I heard it playing on the radio
and just wanted you to know
it’s a wild song with ebbs and flows
like rock and roll
with lots of boogie and soul.

The message said, come read me slow,
my heart is beating and I want to show
you how to see me in this light,
come and sparkle with me this very night.
Let us walk in a jivvy fantasy,
a hazy cosmic odyssey
where we become, then fade
on time’s wave.
Two children, laughing as we go.

Aztec Warrior / redzone 6.10.16

Being a city boy
with some Native roots,
I have always loved the feel
of cool, dew laden grass
licking at my toes;
the scent of pine needles
on the forest floor;
the way a blue butterfly
will sometimes land
on your out stretched hand.
As I wrap all these thoughts
inside my heart,
I begin to see the balance of life.
We are, all of us, connected in so many ways
and it is our diversity
that can make us strong,
if we seize it.

The challenge has always been
to become more conscious
of our potential humane-ness;
to act on, “the whole world comes first”.

A revolution is born,
we have a world to win.

Aztec Warrior 6.15.15

POEM 60
(String Theory Possibilities)

“I’ll wait for you there
like a stone...  Alone
-Audioslave, “Like A Stone
*
There’s a place in my heart
that knows only you
and becomes gooey
emotions with torrential rain
filling the deep oceans of empty space.
Strings and their theory
wrap seductively
around my needing you gravitons
and all I know is
I’m like a stone
waiting to be thrown
skipping across your heart,
leaving ripples of disruption
where new worlds are born.

Aztec Warrior 9.30.15

A Siren’s Song

is heard crashing upon this shore.
It travels on an ocean breeze,
floating on the sea’s mist
while dazzled by
rotating stars
as they wander through
this endless night.

Like Ulysses,
I cling to the mast,
tie myself to the undulation
of her sensual song
enticing
pulling
calling
me to join her
on the waves
of a starry midnight gaze;
tempting
teasing
swaying suggestively
to follow her song
into the ocean’s
mystery and depth,
into sweet oblivion
and a sailor’s blissful death.

Aztec Warrior 9.10.15

POEM 4

As the blue-green sea rises
with the moon’s whimsical phases,
it also falls with vociferous attitude
crashing methodically
on the rocky shore.

I see you
standing within this torment-
Neruda like-
conducting with poetry’s brush
the colors of a starry night.

And the emptiness in my heart
is filled with your melodious art

Aztec Warrior 6.13.15

POEM 59

October sighs
a slight breeze
that whispers goose bumps on my skin
as you walk beside me
and hold my hand.
^^^
But, I must say,
I’m not an Autumn wind,
I am the sky.
Nor am I a harvest moon,
I am the night
that comforts you with star light.
I am not a dragon slayer
but I breathe the fires of hope,
and whisper Quixotesque dreams
of sweet surrender nights.
^^^
And I ask,
will you join me
in succulent October sighs.

Aztec Warrior 9.26.15

The Sword Of Un
(a Quixote song)**

My sword, ******,
now sheathed
hangs by my side
still sticky wet
covered with the gore
of apocalyptic horsemen;
their heads hanging from my belt.
Was it all for naught,
as you thought my savagery
was mockery,
false pretense and hypocritical lies,
aiming only for self fulfillment.
~~~~~
Many, it’s true,
seek only what’s in it for them
superficalities in the vain glory
of seeming warm approval
of acceptance;
seeking their own tree water
while the whole forest
is dying of thirst.
~~~~~
I seek not conquest,
but look you
eye to eye,
heart to heart,
and speak openly my words,
dripping and ******,
of devotion for you.
~~~~~
These words,
love and devotion,
are given freely,
yours to keep;
given, not for gain
or ego’s display
and paltriness.
But because within you
I see and feel all
the wonders of life.
Yes, I see your thunder storms
and distorted illusions
of delusional complexities;
and absurdities of unfair life.
And say, bring it, all of it
cause in all these contradictions,
I see you,
for you!
~~~~~
It’s ironic
isn’t it,
I fell in love with you
dancing within your poetry.
And I would ****** my sword,
slay many more apocalyptic dripping horsemen;
let my Sword of Un sing,
sever their heads
and hang them from my belt,
if I knew for one second
it would allow me
to walk with you,
fingers warmly entwined,
sharing the secrets found
on a coconut scented beach,
lie naked on sun warmed sands
and listen to the music
of your woman’s beat.
As I offer you
all the pieces of my heart.
~~~~~
I am not going anywhere.
So if you're in need of revenge,
or to avenge a wrong,
here’s my Sword of Un.
My head is lying on the block.

10.3.14

https://youtu.be/F3RYvO2X0Oo

I have given up,
you will never get my love.

Aztec Warrior 7.5.15

https://youtu.be/WlP0m39xdI0

It's easy having principles
if you never have to use them...

Aztec Warrior 8/24/15

Intelligence:
doesn't come from books; it
comes from putting people
and the planet first.

Aztec Warrior 9.26.15

Sometimes it’s the absence of words
that keeps me awake at night.
But lately,
it’s their abundance;
their constant chattering
that haunts and taunts.
Too many words.
But the worst of it-
no matter how I try to arrange them,
they only make non-sense.
Verbal garbage, that
long ago began to rot.

Aztec Warrior 6.13.15

Silence Part 3


Sitting here thinking,
pen laying across the page,
waiting for words
to announce themselves
with something profound to say.
Instead
I count the rain
splattering on the window
until I realize
this will be
another wordless day.

8.18.11

POEM 43 (Demons)

Darkness dances with
and caresses shadows
while fading in and out of time.
The days are cold, bitter,
the nights colder
but you can feel my heat
if you look inside
and see my truth.
Yes, I want to shelter you,
but you will also see
where my demons hide.

If you get too close
all your dreams will fail
I will let you down.
So I will let you go,
hold you no longer
unless you show me
how to love you;
how to hold on
while these demons
**** out my life.

Aztec Warrior 9.4.15*

https://youtu.be/GFQYaoiIFh8

*(NOTE: I utilized some of the words, ideas found in the song “Demons”
by Imagine Dragons. The music in this song is mesmerizing to me, even
though I believe we make our own fate for the most part;
we are much more than ‘greed’, there is no ‘kingdom
come’ in the religious sense. We alone determine our path.
What we believe and what we do affects the world around us.
This poem is dedicated to a very special friend.)

Candle

The light from the candle
flickers
in that haphazard sway
and reminds me of the sadness
in you eyes.
I want to hold
and comfort you
since that is all I can do.
The pain is yours
from memories new and old.
Maybe one day the anguish
will be gone, and
a smile will find your heart;
until then,
this candle flicker
is writing a poem for you.

Aztec Warrior 9.10.15

Silence Part 1


These walls speak of books
neatly aligned in rows
on wooden shelves;
pictures hang in portraits
and city scenes;
while the sun enters
through cracked windows
weaving rainbows,
as nervous dust particles
move haphazardly
here and there.
Yet, with all this motion
and occupied space,
emptiness fills this room
except for distant shadows of you.*

*8/18/11