my grandma’s birthday
used to mean more than sadness
more than passing thought
Author: lovizmytrio
June (2012) Daughters
Riona
we walk Venice Beach
we’re offered everything
from CD ash trays,
a strip-tease picture with a dog
in a pink bikini,
and endlessly legal marijuana
(doctor on premises!)
mostly oblivious,
you trot alongside
and point to the homeless man
sitting in the lawn, complete
with office chair and
sleeping bag
i explain. you respond:
he lives outside?
in ALL that grass?
well that’s bigger than our house!
and your five-year-old wisdom
has made this beach day better.
Mythili
the conversations
in the 2000-mile backseat drive
are circular and cute
none cuter than
sisters, learning about the Gold Rush
from historical mama, declare,
We want to dig for gold in these mountains!
with your usual no-nonsense logic,
you casually reply,
You’re going to need a drill.
Isabella
for you,
a trip to California
is no more than an excuse
for a brand new story
to share with all your friends
upon your happy return
that’s my girl
Linear Inequality
we have stood in line
shuffled and reshuffled
signed on dotted lines
rushed to the post office
driven across four state lines
where will you draw the line?
Bottlenecked
a thousand mile drive
to sign our lives to the sea
our message departs
Fire and Rain
same fire-fueling wind
brings us forgiving rain clouds
nature’s irony
Moving Out
now the plants are gone
there is no life in our house
home is somewhere else
Infiltration
i am infiltrated with imagery–
a small town upbringing
infused with adolescent inner city,
torn apart by the desire for more
the desire to make more
out of this oh-so-short life
like drones we clock in, clock out
stay in the same place
and never put our lives on the line
for a new awakening
i put it here now
to step out of Big Brother’s reach,
yet he still watches my every move.
i feel his shadow behind me
mechanically moving my arms,
tearing away my emotions,
like being put in the room with rats
will i step out into the new world,
suck on the bitter gin
and tell him how much i love him
while my soul lies dead
inside my robotic body?
or will i find the forest
–the escape route–
and become the person
i always dreamed i’d become?
Here Without You
a heavenly view
taking my breath on all sides
if you were just here
That Would Be My Way
to have my life played out in notes–
that would be my way
there is music in the relentless wind,
in leaves that swoop seemingly silent to the ground
in the bubbly laughter of a small child
for me it would be more traditional—
the white piano keys overtaking a room
in a cacophony of melody,
the voice everyone hears and loves in
one swelling moment of listening lust,
notes drawn out in minds, hands, ever-tapping feet,
playing out my life—
that would be my way
to have my life played out in song—
that would be my way
lyrics that cling to my daughters’ voices
and follow them into adulthood,
harmonies holding up the background
of every overly dramatic scene,
the sharp choruses and smooth verses
of songs that soothe me to sleep—
that would be my way
Safe Harbor
without your calm love
i couldn’t weather this storm
you are my harbor
