Remember Quetzal, joanna vogel

I remember,
not how to say I remember in Spanish,
but being read to
your voice speaking Spanish to me
like the purring of a cat –
you know the type of cat,
the one you’ve stroked until it
can’t sit still,
can only press itself, for dear life,
against your fingertips;
into the palm of your hand.

You read to me
about the Quetzal
no te muere nunca we said together
and you looked at me with green eyes,
beautiful feline eyes,
kissed my hand
and continued reading.

Beautiful
beloved
warrior boy who
cannot die is
shot through the heart by a
jealous arrow and since he
cannot die
the gods decree he will become a bird.

I knew the story already,
so I allowed myself to drift
in your purring voice,
rising from someplace deep in your throat,
bubbling up like thick,
dark honey.

I wondered about the Quetzal
and us.
What would happen if he, like Icarus,
flew too near the sun?
Would he be singed, burnt,
and fall into the sea
to drown?
Or would he mimic the Phoenix
burst into a mad dance of orange
and yellow flames and emerge
unscathed
and more beautiful?

In the same vein,
could I, a mere mortal, riddled with blemishes
and clichés,
lie so close to you,
my accented goddess,
and not be burnt by your cool skin,
not drown in the honey of your voice?
Could I be Quetzal and Phoenix,
could I be daring Icarus,
and orbit you?
Could I then fold up my wax
wings, roost safely in the
flames of you hair
a bird being read to by a beautiful cat?
You will not melt my wings.

Silent Defiance, Ginny Georgekutty

“She’ll end up killing somebody”
You say
And although you speak
Those words as a joke
There is one truth
Beneath it all
That you believe
The belief that
Silence is a flaw
A problem
A social “no-no”

As part of that silence
I believe otherwise

For my silence
Is not simply shy
No,
There’s more to it
Than you may recognize

For my silence
Is a voice that stands out
And takes a side
Even if you fail to recognize
The words that lie
Hidden beneath my closed lips

My silence symbolizes
The silence of millions
Because of
Hunger, poverty, natural disasters, tragedies
Or abuse
Happening all across
The world

It spits upon
The many imposters
That con millions
Of their money
Just for their pleasure

It listens to
Every word of
Every conversation
That many of the outspoken
Disregard

It silently tortures and scolds
My victim
To the point
That they are left
Clueless as to why
Exactly
I was silent
In the first place

My silence is
My polite response
To your looks
Your questions
Your gaze

And my restraint
From any possible outburst
Of words, emotions
That would later
Haunt and humiliate me

However
To be fair
I agree that at times
My silence is
No more than an escape
To evade your question
And try to guess at
The definite answer
That you are looking for
Yet
I do not know
Or to simply
Stop myself from
Saying “I don’t know”
So many times
That I look more
Ignorant than naïve

In its’ true form
Or as with my own,
Silence is anything
But a flaw
Whose voice
Is flat and ordinary

Our Nation, Adam Samaroo

I have seen the devastation and contemplation
of our nation

I have heard the pain, for the gain
of our nation

I have touched the dead, and the tears they shed
of our nation

I have smelt the lead, the sulphur bed
of our nation

I have tasted the hate, and the want to eliminate
of our nation

long belts lash upon all of our faces

ETERNALLY SCARRED

Ode To a French Stewardess, Will P.

I'm in flight Air France 493
And I'm seated in seat 36C
And as the French beauty of my dreams
Walks past 36C
All I'm thinking is that this seat
Is the second best 36C

Because on this plane
Is a woman with no name
She stole my heart and fastened it securely
She explains how to use my life vest
Just incase her and I need to make an:
In-flight-emergency-evacuation
Falling in love from 36,000 feet is no easy task.

Oh french stewardess
We we are about to take off!
Because I got my cockpit locked in its upright position
Anytime you walk past
I feel like first class
Let's start some turbulance french stewardess
And let our lips crash into a, French kiss

But as you hand me my
Pre-packed
Shrink-wrapped
In-flight
Single-serving
Fresh off the conveyer belt
Worse than Taco Bell
Poor excuse for,
Peanuts,
I saw your ring

My non-stop flight to your heart has been cancelled
Are we loosing cabin pressure?
French Stewardess