Long Rivera Poems
Long Rivera Poems. Below are the most popular long Rivera by PoetrySoup Members. You can search for long Rivera poems by poem length and keyword.
Cinque Terre
by Edmund Siejka
We were in the Italian Rivera
A once in a lifetime trip
Hiking along the remote cliffs of Cinque Terre
Along narrow rock strewn paths
Barely wide enough
For goats.
We continued
Clinging to the cliffs of the coastline
Crossing over flimsy wooden bridges
Past vineyards
Olive groves
And lemon orchards.
Falls were common
I remembered
Simple rules of the trail
Look downward
Not up
Know where you are going
Make sure you can get back safely
Carefully we continued
Weighing every slippery rock
And stone
Before taking the next step.
When our guide stopped
I rested
In front of me
Splashed across
A deep blue horizon
Was the Mediterranean
Ancient as Homer’s Helen
And now a scene of tranquil emptiness.
We started again
Shifting our weight
Walking on our heels
Following the steep
Downward slope
Ending hours later
I was exhausted
Glad that it was over.
My sides ached
Every breath
A struggle
Forcing me to wonder
If I would ever cross this way again.
I cannot forget Trayvon Martin - slain teen
no matter manifold more young people
unthinkingly killed, who spirits aspire
to ascend higher than a steeple.
revisited and slightly revised today
March 14th, 2021.
One deliberate shameful death,
whose demise linkedin
violent cessation of breath
thank heavy gun wielding hand
innocuous thug disguised
as armed neighborhood watch
firearm brandished
as weapon of choice.
Once again rifling thru outdated drafts,
I unwittingly repost grievous bulletin
that made headlines nine plus years ago,
an innocent lad received fatal shot
into said unarmed teenager's chest
according to testimony
courtesy Doctor Vincent Di Maio.
Memory of aforementioned crime
relegated to dustbin of criminal minds
whereby dime a dozen killings
(nowadays barely register shock)
countless young persons
genetically bequeathed with
healthy dose of melanin
gunned down during their prime.
George Zimmerman (then age 28)
ought to be pitched into the
alligator and crocodile infested Everglade
for his senseless killing (outright murder)
of Trayvon Martin slammed
as involved some illicit wick kid trade
(a slender African American
more precisely youth flush with color
only 17 years young -
(birthdate - February 5th, 1995
death date - February 26th, 2012),
whose martyrdom grows
as days/weeks fade
an exemplary gregarious helpmate
swimming against the tide
to make the grade
now slain while just a youth -
the unfounded killing
by a neighborhood watch volunteer,
who felt afraid
that this dark skinned young man
appeared suspicious pulled the trigger
with comeuppance to be paid
though -- no retribution can restore
lifeless body, still
agitated waters nor offer shade
from the justifiable media frenzy
sparked from Geraldo Rivera made
even with unanimous
approval of guillotine blade
for violence cannot only rejuvenate
a promising future
evinced by Trayvon Martin
reincarnated into tree or leaf blade
but only serves to beget subsequent
violence now unto his grave
said teenager laid!
If I were to frenchify myself
I would walk more often
Maybe to work.
It is only twenty-seven miles.
But how would I get over the river?
Would I want to walk on
Interstate bridges?
If I were to frenchify myself
I would wear a jaunty red beret
perched on my head at an angle while I paint.
People would smile and say
“I did not know she was French” and
my Irish self would smirk.
If I were to frenchify myself
I would lose eighty pounds and
eat vegetables and maybe a fruit.
I would make love on the Rivera
and speak all of my French words.
French toast, French kissing, and FrenchFries.
On a summer night in Greenwich Village,
when neon trembled against wet pavement
and fear wore the uniform of the law,
a spark leapt from the shadows.
It was June 28, 1969.
The night the people who had been told
to lower their voices,
hide their hands,
change their walk,
bury their hearts,
finally said:
No.
At the doors of Stonewall Inn,
the pursuit of happiness ceased being a promise on paper
and became a demand carried by living, breathing souls.
Drag queens.
Runaways.
Dreamers.
Workers.
Artists.
Lovers.
People whose names history almost erased,
yet whose courage became a torch.
The world would later learn the names of heroes like
Marsha P. Johnson
and Sylvia Rivera,
but that night belonged to thousands,
each carrying a universe inside them,
each deserving the simple freedom
to exist.
To love.
To dance.
To breathe.
The journey was never straight.
It wound through funerals and protests,
through silence and song,
through years when hate marched openly
and hope marched anyway.
Yet every generation carried the banner forward,
stitching new colors into an unfinished quilt
of human dignity.
And as fate would have it,
the uprising began on the birthday of
Judy Garland,
whose voice had long offered refuge
to those searching for a place
somewhere over the rainbow.
Perhaps that is coincidence.
Perhaps it is poetry.
Today the rainbow flies in cities and small towns,
in courtrooms and classrooms,
in places where it once would have been dangerous
to whisper its name.
Not because the struggle is finished,
but because courage is contagious.
The pursuit of happiness
was never about chasing wealth,
or fame,
or applause.
It was always about the right
to wake each morning
unafraid of being yourself.
To hold a hand.
To speak your truth.
To live openly beneath the same sky
that belongs to everyone.
And so the voices continue.
Different accents.
Different stories.
Different songs.
Yet together they form a chorus
so powerful
that even history must stop and listen.
A chorus born in resistance,
carried by love,
and still marching
toward freedom.
Help needed? Go fry none available here.
Even if you are very ill and disabled we do not care.
Look all we care about is your money!!
Loot to the bank for us, always another sucker down the road.
Help? What is that? We do not know what you are on about.
Of course we can send people to your villa to sort things out.
Let us take care of it they are on their way right now.
I and mum speak to two housekeepers dressed in aprons
Dear me they say we can not come in we can not deal with body fluids.
And off they go leaving a 87 year old lady to turn mattress and re-make bed.
Yes really. My cousin and his wife arrived and sorted things out.
All come here to stay we really do care
This is just a blip, oh you are upset? I do not understand why! (manager)
Please I think we did all we could. Really? how come you did sweet FA!!!
Everybody here is always happy. Few ever complain.
Really, only four separate people complained because you did not remove bags!!
Requested us to leave on porch for collection that was over 24 hours coming.
And this after I gave you a second chance after our disaster holiday in March.
Never again will I cross your threshold I have had it with you.
Such clavier treatment can not be ignored
All be warned by our experience and avoid Perran Sands in Cornwall
Next time I will go to Rivera Sands at Hayle they were wonderful to us.
Dear people in reception there bought me a bottle of wine for my birthday
So heed my warning and stay well clear or else you will regret your stay.
Diego Rivera’s Flower Carrier
My load to carry is backbreaking,
But this I must do to feed my family.
Down on all fours on the ground, I pray
For fairness in barter and my safe return home
From this capitalist enterprise I am engaging in.
My basket is laden to overflowing the brim
With the most beautiful flowers in all the land.
My woman helps me to my feet to begin
The journey to the mercado to sell our flores.
She, too, is strong like me, with strong hands.
Together, for survival and comfort in this life,
We labour, leaning on each other as a pillar
Through the impending toils of daily grind.
In quiet rectitude, we are satisfied knowing
That our Lord and Saviour Jesucristo will provide.
We pick the flowers at their peak
When the colours are their brightest
And their scents are the most invigorating.
One by one, we gently lay them
In the cesta de mimbre.
With every step and breath I take,
Their fragrances fill my nostrils,
And the unbearable becomes bearable,
Bringing relief to my aching back
And sandal-shodden feet.
How can I ask for more?
When I return, the joy on my family’s faces
For the money received from the sale
Provides the strength I require
To do this task over and over again
Until I am departed.
***
Notes:
“Diego Rivera’s Flower Carrier” is an ekphrastic poem based on the painting "The Flower Carrier" (1935) by Diego Rivera (1886–1957).
mercado: market
flores: flowers
Jesucristo: Jesus Christ
cesta de mimbre: wicker basket.
Bay area's crown jewel, The Claremont,
Where age 24 Steve Jobs and I talked,
Well, him--as to the future--I was shocked,
The guy aimed high, humble, who want for naught.
An unscheduled stop by a young Prince Charles,
That shook the hands of this Hawaiian kid.
Isabel Sanford's inebriated,
Big Head for A. M. Talk Show With The Stars.
The moment when Chris Kristofferson and,
Geraldo Rivera stuck in the lift,
Then there's Joan Baez mom, a bit of a rift,
Some more late check-in, Waylon Jennings band.
The resort, like San Francisco, midway,
Pearls in an oyster, San Francisco Bay.
***Same hotel where the late Ricky Nelson band stayed with wife Kristin who's actor Mark Harmon(--sister) from the show NCIS, who also visited there, whereto, I have already submitted a sonnet.
Date: 08/26/2019
I have fallen in love with a winged dragon alebrijes,
Have to buy it of course, is it signed?
What artisian created this piece of bright gorgeousness?
I look for a signature.
This phantasmagorical creature has none.
No matter.
She is from Oaxaca, the ultimate home of the alebrijes.
Pedro Linares had a fever in the 1940’s.
His fever dreams turned into fantastical creatures.
Made first of papier-mache, painted in Zapotec patterns
Circles, dots and stripes.
Did he know he was starting something big
when he made up the word alebrijes?
Colorful folk art made more famous by
artisians like Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Arturo Cabellero
Alebrijes are hybrid creatures carved in wood, painted in
bright colors.
Representing animal totems or familiars,
they are part of the pop culture of Day-of-the-dead parades.
Horns representing earth, wings representing air,
fins representing water and dragons representing fire.
It makes sense I am completely drawn to the winged dragon.
I dive headfirst into Masonite’s wood fibers
compressed baked & primed
blending boundaries of life,
lightning and death’s
cycle of pain in paint
as a path to tranquility treading
through inner turmoil of vibrancy
A hummingbird in her shell breaks away
the triaged torment
for a moment, quietus cabaret on
cacti untamed canvas
conveys an observer in one’s
own collard greens
Tehuana traditional gown
from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
ripe reds & burnt orange
Oiled in, the gods Xolotl,
guard dog portrayed
Aztec god & fertility goddess
Motherly milky way
flanking figures,
a fiery orb of the sun
& the cool, silvery moon
dualities of balance
Fresco muralist Diego Rivera
cuddled infantile by Kahlo,
adorns a frontal lobe’s
opened third eye
& wears Buddha’s mouth
apprises of oriental wisdom
both his & hers
naïve folk art
enveloped in a cosmic
love embrace of the universe
I have attempted to capture my favorite major league baseball players in this little shape poem of home plate. Included are (in no particular order):
Say Hey Willie Mays Walter Johnson (Big Train)
Randy Johnson (The Big Unit) Babe Ruth (The Sultan Of Swat)
Tony Gwynn Jimmie Foxx
Ted Williams Maury Wills
Stan “The Man” Musial Johnny Bench
Ken Griffey Jr Greg Maddox
Henry Aaron Lou Gehrig
Roberto Clemente Ty Cobb
Satchell Paige Ernie Banks
Rickey Henderson Carl Yastrzemski (Yaz)
Trevor Hoffman Albert Pujols
Gibson (Bob and Josh) Honus Wagner
Rogers Hornsby Cal Ripken
Robinson (Jackie, Frank and Brooks)
Some favorites I had to leave out…
Christy Mathewson Warren Spahn
Sandy Koufax Tom Seaver
Mickey Mantle Rod Carew
Joe Morgan Ozzie Smith
Mariano Rivera Miguel Cabrera
Pedro Martinez Ichiro Suzuki
David Ortiz Jose Altuve
I’d love to see your faves mentioned in the comments section!
written 24 Aug 2020