![]() By Lupe Carlos III I am a cherished child Chasing lazy grasshoppers in a wild meadow Under the dazzling turquoise sky My mind is a library lined with hundreds of rows and thousands of books Corridors leading to corridors, towering with shelves, stacked with manuscripts There’s even a section devoted to absurdity My heart is an endless sea of liquid sapphire held in place by joy Where children bathe on crystal shores warmed by an amber moon My soul is a wisp of a cloud with the aroma of affection Casting shadows on those who labor under the midday sun My body is an ancient temple radiating the power of my people With the gentleness of the prayers that burn within My touch is the mark made by a dandelion seed as it lights on healing waters Where earthen salts and steeped lavender fill an alabaster tub I laugh Oh, how I laugh, at life as it parades by Dressed in an impossible paradox I am the culmination of my ancestor’s hopes I am the foundation of my children’s dreams I am loved I know this all to be true Because you spoke it into being In a language, you knew I did not yet understand You appeared to me when I was lost An angel with wings of onyx daggers Slashing the rain and wounding the night I don’t know why I followed you into the darkness Where the sun in weathered copper And stars hurt like grit in my eyes We traveled for years through twilight dreams Where time is a cruel prank And memories haunt dark corners in filthy rooms We followed the scattered pieces of my soul back to the beginning Collecting each, you wove me together with string, twigs, downy gray feathers And trashy treasures you gathered from your secret places Along the banks of exhaustion, a graceful glow called us to the sacred circle I stepped to the center of the silent flames I raised my hands and yelled at the top of my thoughts I am here, I’m alive Again, and again I am here, I’m alive I yelled until my mind was hoarse I yelled until I believed it
3 Comments
Mark
9/9/2017 11:53:24 am
Lupe, you continue to amaze. This is truly beautiful! I normally do' like no poetry lesson' it rimes, but this, my friend makes me a believer
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Jennifer
9/12/2017 11:53:14 am
Stunning. Thank you Lupe for sharing your heART with us.
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Atit Marmer
10/12/2017 10:26:38 am
Breathtaking inspired and thoughts that go deeper than the surface. I read each thought twice or more to make sure I let it truly hit home.
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SFBC VoicesThis blog includes thoughts from various contributors at Seattle First Baptist Archives
January 2019
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