Segments
draw attention
sequentially~
named and not named
and perhaps one such
names the whole
or the whole remains
unnamed~
separation speaks~~
Her newborn girl wasn't given to her
for the crucial skin to skin contact
instead the nurses took the baby away
and returned the daughter back to the mother-
with a bottle, after a few hours.
A close bond never formed between them
conversations seldom occurred,
time together was little spent.
He was tied up with running his business
rarely was at home with his wife, two daughters
and especially his son, his only son, his youngest child.
Disconnected father and son, cut telephone cord,
what the son wanted was a man to look up to and love
his own father of course! But all his father wanted
was money, money, money. Devoted too much to work,
deprived his family of love, especially his son.
I wonder why separation occurs in family
When family is supposed to be united?
They say that love is stripped of truth, but vain,
A tale retold, a sorrow’s old refrain.
Yet thou alone my heart in bondage keep,
Thy form in every realm my soul doth steep.
To snare the cunning idol few are fain,
For she is not a toy for market’s gain.
Thy street proclaims my name, yet none bestow
Thy union sweet, though dreams within me grow.
The portion giv’n me by the lowly sphere
Is nights of wakefulness and grief severe.
Each heart that keeps a breath of loyal flame
Must walk through thorns and bear the exile’s shame.
O heart, rejoice in absence, taste thy smart,
For ease of flesh brings sorrow to the heart.
Explanatory Footnotes:
lowly sphere – A poetic metaphor for the heavens or fate, often viewed as unjust or lowly despite its power.
cunning idol – The beloved, imagined as an idol both enchanting and sly, not easily captured or possessed.
union – Mystical or romantic union with the beloved; a central theme in Persian Sufi-inspired poetry.
absence – The state of separation from the beloved, a source of both pain and spiritual growth.
smart – Here used in its older sense, meaning pain or suffering.
To my mama they stole,
I dont blame you for what was done
You sacrificed your life for my childhood
You fought for my right of innocence
You spoke so I could have freedom
It's not your fault
You were just born black
I'm not old enough to understand why
But i do understand your love
I feel it even in your absence
I know I'm the child and your the parent
But even black mothers deserve to be nurtured
Your hugs were always the best medicine
They always made this bleak world better
When we can next visit I'll give all the hugs so you can be happier
I promise to find a way
To make the men with cuffs pay
For taking my mommy away
Love your 'sweet baby child'
(As you always call me)
P.s I love you
You wear your flag like a second skin,
the colors bright, the threads worn thin;
And speak of victories long ago,
In voices proud, yet soft and low.
The tales are told, again, again
the triumphs carved in dust and pen;
The papers shout what you should hear,
While silencing what’s less sincere.
You count your coins, you guard your name,
you say it’s just a noble game;
But shadows stir beneath your cheer,
A trembling hand you won’t let near.
And so we stand on separate ground,
no shared horizon to be found;
Yet in the gap, I almost see
A kind of peace for you and me.
i sit alone and wait to see you again,
eyes weary from my vigil.
neighbors' rustling reminds me
of the world passing by,
but nothing distracts me
from the prison of thought.
in my mind i am lonely,
in the crowd even lonelier.
but the color i see
in this stale black & white
is that of your eyes
miles away from me,
the blue sky under which
i stretch and dream.
and in that blue i am held.
until the dawn i will wait
and strike matches to keep me warm,
and curse them when their fires die,
because they are not you.
My sweetest dear
Whose eyes are my soul's elixir
Five moons upon us
As our dreams bend the stars
That paddock full of wild flowers
Now yields the softest grass
My hands passing over those seeded heads
As the wind sways them to you
We meet there one day
One day, any day , every day
Finally that dream awoken
Nervous hands with nervous eyes
A remedy for our racing hearts
Salves the skin that knows not touch
As the same air saturates us
We yield unto each other
I hate that I hurt you.
How could I?
Tears were dropped with
Our future inside.
How could we know a certain forever would become an "It's enough"?
Enough pain, enough never-ending loops of what we should do or what’s best.
Fish biting tails.
My insecurities drove you insane.
Maybe insanity is what gave you patience and faith.
My ups and downs, you got them all.
Arms wide open, a warrior with no shield,
No protection for Sir "I’ll give you all of me."
I needed a step forward, to look at all those taken behind with a new light.
Yellow memories, warm sunlight.
The sound of laughter and two hearts melted into one.
Thank you for the tries, for seeing who I am.
Yes, Lady Hesitant ran away.
Bad or good decisions,
We’ll figure out soon.
Meanwhile,
Our past souls remain
In the realm of love,
The only thing that never ended,
The only place where it will live.
no separation
not explained
not explainable
can be obvious
dissolving absent
handholds
Aquel sinsonte que se posaba
en el balcon, apenas trina.
Al no escuchar tú voz sutil
cantando sin secar.
Y esos rosales que ayer regabas
con delirio, hoy se marchitan.
Pues ya de ti no queda ni la fragancia
de tu esencia en nuestro hogar.
the waters divide
lovers are marooned
one at head, other at heart
between them looms
desert of desire
magnetism connects
all scattered coordinates
whispered in strobes of silence
reassuring yet falling short
of love’s tender embrace
shape shifting soul
slides into thought cessation
transmuting as the space element
whereupon as boundaries blur
the two become one again
I see you an inch at a time,
Filling the spaces left in the fence.
Glints of gaudy, plastic play-jewels,
A shimmer of hair trailing past as you run,
The bright, berry-red of a newly-scraped knee.
I’ve not seen your face,
But I see it in sounds coming over the fence,
Humming while filling your teapot with dirt,
Calling to friends that you know you don’t have,
Or chirping “I’m six!” when a bird asks your age.
Sometimes I “see” your house filling with shouts,
And little you crying in never-cut grass,
“I think he’s asleep” whispered under your breath,
And since you’d like someone to say it to you,
“There, there.”
I’ve not see your face,
Yet I see you completely
In the wisps and the calls given off by a life
And what my heart already knows of
Loneliness.
Separation Day:
From Ashes to Unity
Upon this day, the third day of May, hills recall their pain,
When flames and fury swept across the land,
Yet through the smoke, our prayers did remain -
A hope for peace that violence could not brand.
The morning’s grief, the silence of the fields,
The shattered homes, the sanctuaries burned,
Yet from the ashes, unity now yields
A strength the foe had never truly learned.
O Zohnathlâk, tribals of the hills,
Stand firm, though chaos seeks to break your will;
Let not the taunts nor flags bring forth chills,
For unity is armor, calm and still.
May God, who saw our sorrow and our scars,
Guide us to freedom, healing from these wars.
© 2025 Pastor Emmanuel Serto
If I were that scar above your rose tinted lips,
of whom you keep picking and removing dead cellular dust,
out of hatred that rises from your porous subcutaneous layer
of insecurity,
I probably would have bled more than you think.
I couldn't have shed tears, possibly.
But I've heard every little wound needs love to heal,
And so will I-
your dearest hideous scar.
A gaping wound pierces my heart in the shape of my be-
loved.
Someday it will scab over.
Someday,
far, far in the future,
it will turn into scar tissue.
I will rub it and it will be soft and smooth and comforting.
It will be with me,
in the shape of my love,
for as long as I live.
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