Spring Cleaning

The spiders have spent the last season,
Building castles between the leaves of the lilies.
The last of the winter leaves have turned into fantastic mobiles,
Toys for the breezes, woven from abandoned webs.
The porch is covered in pollen and dust.
The blackbirds are walking all over the roof,
And, trying not to annoy us.

I have a lovely, new red broom.
The jasmine is beginning to bloom.
I have a sponge and a brush and a mop,
The grasshoppers laugh and go hop, hop, hop.
I know that no one can make them stop.
The hummingbirds come and knock on the door,
To remind us, just in case.
The squirrels are up and down the trees,
Engaging in a race.
The green lizard’s cleaning the corners,
Which I am unable to reach.
Spring has finally reached us,
And, now you can eat a peach.
I need to put water into the fountains,
So, the blue birds do not faint.
Everything else needs a new coat of paint.
And, I need a facelift,
Or, at least a good smile,
And, I need time to sit on the porch next to you,
And, to hold your hand for a while.

Written by V. Castellanos – April 8, 2020

Southwest

You have been there before, I know.
And, I think you go there in your dreams,
You go off to where, it seems,
The purple mesas rise with dawn,
On the horizons hover long,
Delighted by their own mirages,
Illuminated images,
The Trickster waits,
The Trickster’s hidden,
Behind a boulder, not forbidden,
First Mother’s there, behind it all,
One thousand times older than yesterday,
Looking over our shoulder.

Long, blue shadows lie below,
The great, magnetic mountains,
Across the sands,
Across the lands,
Green with copper and yellow with uranium,
Red with rage,
The bones of the earth are all exposed,
The black magma showing her age.

The caverns yawn with echoes of memories,
Prophesies,
Festivities,
Tragedies,
Destinies,
Pictographs,
Smoke signals,
Droughts and floods,
Etchings on the trails,
Made by Kachina’s dancing feet.
They never miss a beat.
Hidden in the landscape,
Bending space,
Disappear and reappear,
In another place,
Start a barefoot race,
Kivas in the shadows,
Towers hidden from the angles of the wind,
And, the white clouds, soft and thin,
Dissolving in the blue sky, under the midday sun.

With us or without us,
The world still rages on,
At dawn, it seems,
My lovely dreams,
Are very nearly gone.

I have followed sandy footsteps from 40,000 years ago,
I have followed stars and spirals painted on the ceilings of caves,
Red hand prints and thirteen petaled flowers.
I have followed goats with rectangular eyes to feed on datura.
I have followed run away rains into the sky,
And, there they left me high and dry.

Now, I am falling into canyons filled with cactus flowers and spines,
I am falling into quicksand rivers lined with tamarac and vines,
I am falling into love, with places you and I, together, have been to.
And, I am falling more and more and more, in love with you.

Written by V. Castellanos – April 5, 2020

Moon Turn

So, close your eyes,
Here’s a big surprise,
The moon has turned,
And, turned into,
An insect in the skies.

Locust in the day time,
Cicada in the night,
Spiders spinning,
Wasps are grinning,
Don’t turn out the light.

Ten thousand times as large as I,
What does she see, watching me, from the sky?
Am I as little, as a flea, as tiny a fly?
As invisible as a virus, to her insect eye?

Owls are in the treetops,
They do not stop their howling,
Wolves are up at midnight,
And, stay busy disembowling.

Bats are swooping,
Bats are flying,
Moths with burning wings,
Are dying.

Don’t tell me that I have to stay,
Don’t say that I can’t run away.
All the birds have taken flight.

I’m hearing ghosts, in my blood tonight,
They’re brawling, calling, scowling,
They will not go back, into their grave.
They’re screaming, boiling, growling.
They’re not being cool, but they’re being brave.
Rapping, tapping,
Giant wings are flapping,
Whiplash, antennae flash,
All my teeth are chattering.
The mandibles are clattering,
Yet, somehow, still, the moonlight is,
Both beautiful and flattering.

Incessant sounds, disturb the grounds,
They reside inside, the moon’s new wings.
They will not stop, though the beetle sings,
The sagebrush stings, and the brittle sands,
Rage beside me, So, hold my hands.
I’m sure the moon, will set pretty soon.

And, when she lands,
She’ll release all hands.
Then, suppose the insects all jump down,
Land on your land, on your lawn,
In your town?
If some of them come,
To where you already are,
You should run away, real quick,
And, run away, real far,
In a boat, or on a goat,
On a bike, or in a car,
Or, maybe you could hitch a ride,
On the nearest passing star.

With a sense of fun,
The sun has spun,
A web the same size,
As the solar system.
The Milky Way had the same idea,
And, that is why she kissed him.
They both play the very same game,
And, they play it in,
The very same way.

Whether or not, you come or go,
Regardless of the news,
Or the talk, or the show,
You know, they are the ones,
Holding all of us together,
In spite of static, interference,
Or, intergalactic weather.

We are watching the inside, and watching the outside,
And, watching everyone of the multiple levels,
All of the angels are starting to sing,
And, also all the devils.
With biting, bitter venom,
Or a neat, sweet, grateful heart,
Everyone of us is just waiting around,
For another world to start.

A Smile on Your Face

White lace, silver lace,
Mistletoe, come kiss my face.
Pink lace, red lace,
Time to go to bed, lace,
Lipstick, let’s pick up the pace,

Chiffon and satin, velvet lace,
High heels and feathers, just in case.
Rocking lace, silk stocking lace,
Rose perfume, but just a trace.

Old lace, gold lace,
I won’t fold-up-my-fan-yet lace,
Flirt with me, it’s not a race,
We’ve lots of time, no need for haste.

Candle light invokes romance,
So, come to me, I want to dance.
Don’t waste this space, its pleasure based.
I have a taste for smoky lace,
For bedroom lace, with a racy taste.
I’ve put away my can of mace.
I went out and got some peek-a-boo lace,
And, I put it here, in the very best place.

Scarlett lace, A harlot’s lace,
You don’t want this,
To go to waste.
Lollipop lace, And, don’t-stop lace.
Am I going to be, sometime tonight,
Right in your tight embrace?

Black lace, lace on fire,
I’m burning up with my desire.
Come on, let’s go, its no disgrace.
What ever you want, I’m still sure it’s the case,
That I can put a smile back on your face.