Poems by Ana Salazar

 

et cetera

all else slips through the hands like voices

do not misunderstand me
i am more than the pattern
murmur of surf on wandering sand
or poet of the singing rock

all else is insignificant proportions
we are the milky way condensed
coursing down the streams and rapids

 

to the south china sea

many days our small boat is a speck in the endless sea;
we have no shelter from the rains and sun,
we have no food
and now, no destination but the open sea:
armed men stand at all docks to turn us back;
many days my child lies motionless and moans,
this child, she knows no songs
but the drone of the the fireplane and the roar of gun;
many days since we have fled our home
no longer home;
like obedient beasts,
we steer our flimsy boat toward our grave.

 

love poem

          1.
imperfect flower
i embrace you

          2.
flute voice
cross through my lake

          3.
prisoners of gravity
escape

 

lynny

those furtive scalpels
the tapered fingers, pierced
my cherished layers of defense
we took the summer
swept in days of roaming hill
days combed with pine and beckoning sky
her yellow hair across my eyes diffused the sun
filtered the inward eye
and its reproach
we bathed in the melted snow
yellow strands of days
spread over my lifeline.

 

the link

beginning
you whispered names and chants
as i walked through water and parting trees
knowing you and refusing to acknowledge,
preparing to pass through
your voice reached from the distance
i fell into a walking coma
giving up the body
i waited in sleep
knowing your touch and your name
waiting for the materialization;
re-enacting the old rites
we lay open and saw you pass
you slipped through my veins
drugging me with your blood;
you were a traveler returned
as you fell into our hands
wide eyed
and we cried together

 

All copyright © 1978 by a. e. salazar.

 

Back to poetry index