A Drop of Golden Sun...

Broad daylight

off the freeway

taking the long way around

down the winding mountain road

surrounded by green lace

sparkling light flashes
like mini fireworks

fragrant Pine, Redwood, Madrone

tickling my nose

bringing that rare sense

all is right with the world.

a smile

Others escape with me,
some ahead
leading the way,

some behind me
in the mirror

all of us
snaking down the mountain together
fresh air soothing
sunlight sprinkling like snow

we meet the climbers,
from the other direction
all pass one another
like ants on a trail

I can't watch them now
focusing on cars ahead
red lights braking
car behind me
too close

In a flickering blink
a tawny creature flies

It's Bambi's mother

crossing the road
I can't breathe

A split second of hope
In one graceful ballerina leap,
she makes it!
almost...

SUV barrels round the curve
everyone brakes
stops in horror

She's down
all fours tucked round her,
as if resting in a field
her regal head raised
a long gash on her throat

Red so bright
It's the only color in the world.

she'll be alright

she says
with her eyes,
just give me a minute.

The monster backs up,
peals out around her
as if alone
as if no one saw!
a hit and run
Is it legal?
a hit and run on a doe?

Bambi's mother bleeds
I cry
pull over
close as I dare
the edge of the steep abyss
How did she fly so high?

"911 What is your emergency?"

A large deer was hit, she's lying on the old Soquel highway near ...

"Is it on the road or off the road?"

It's on ...  middle of other lane

"If it's dead, pull it off the road."

If I had the strength... I... How much could she weigh?

"Ma'am???"

She's alive.
Can she be rescued?

I'm distracted
People are standing by my window.

"Are you alright?"

Yes.... No!

"Did you hit the deer?"

No, not me. It was a hit and run! I stopped to call 911

I wave my cellphone... 

Where did these people come from?

The woman looks at my front bumper
at the dent there

so many years
shakes her head
says something
to the man beside her

"Ma'am, you need to tell me... the animal, is it alive or dead?

Is it blocking the road?"

I turn to look
Bambi's mother leaps up
a breath of hope
she falls
half on the road
half in the ditch
struggling
lifting her head
chest rising rapidly
her eyes wild now

"Ma'am, Ma'am... you need to pay attention to me. Is the animal blocking traffic?

Yes,  It's a very large deer.

a little white lie.
cars are passing by,
carefully, slowly,

traffic has not stopped.

"Animal control will take care of the situation. Stay there until they arrive"

Yes, Yes, okay

But, I don't stay
the doe looks dead

fog crawls in
to catch the spirit
and welcome it home 

No more green lace
or sunbeams
too cold for open window

I drive down the forested road
breathing in
and breathing out

Please note: The scenic pictures were taken by me. The deer pictures were not.

I struggled with the conversational punctuation. How does one do that in poetry? He said, she said sounds so unpoetic. Maybe this isn't a poem?

It's a Wrap!

Forgotten candy in pocket
slightly sticky with age.

The coat?
I haven't worn in months.
 

Car stalled,
highway dark,
waiting for triple A.

Cold.
Hungry.

It nudges.
It worms it's way
into my thoughts.
 

Fingers fondle wrapper,
squishy, but firm.

Oh, what the hell!
Still tastes good.

Elizabeth Munroz

Good Day! Sunshine?

Awakening into today

Does today have a label?
A designation selecting it out from any other day?

How does today,
This day,
Differ from any other?

Obviously not the same
Yet, it seems like just another piece of hell
Infusing itself into existence.

Doesn’t begin.
Doesn’t end.
Just another day.

Foggy, cold, empty, gray
Like my pain,
Medicated and Polluted
with poison smog-thoughts

Cyanide tetrachloride images
Twist their bizarre sneering faces.
Racing in fast-forward,
Everchanging clouds of human misery.

Compassionless, tortured souls
Caught there,    
continually escaping

By channeling themselves
Into dimensions
Beyond the realms of time.

Only to reappear again
More grotesque
And pathetically devoid
Of being worth salvaging.

The cat, in heat, yeowls,
and growls again.

Does she see them, too?

Elizabeth Munroz 
March 1991
Photos by E.M.

Return to Roots

Swaying in the breeze, the willow cried.
Wind wanting to comfort her,
could not.

Of all the people on the earth,
she loved that child the most.
The one who sat beneath her daily
her back leaning against the bark.

Willow's roots embracing her
like a babe in arms.
Willow's branches swayed,
touching her hair as she played
happily, with her dolls
and now she was going away,
far, far, away to another place.

Ever wonder why willows weep?
Ever wonder why girls cry?

Poem and photograph by Elizabeth Munroz

Getting Ready to Write - Poem

Got Ink?


Testing writing instruments

demanding, desiring penmanship
thirsting for new ink.

Will it last long enough
to finish what I’m saying?

Any pen,
trusting,
praying,
it will function.

Examine each one
for every clue.

Dried ones go
keep the evernew

        ~~~
Elizabeth Munroz

Redeeming Pain

Deep within
lies a slimy,
pathetic Monster
writhing with pain.

We all know him
His own worst enemy, is he
only conscious of misery,
he cannot see beyond himself.

pain lingers about him,
like so many tangled wires
jumbled in static
giving off fumes

Pain is his cousin
who never goes away
only to be dealt with
in twisted anger

victimized, ostracized,
unreachable, untouchable
unworthy of redemption

he refuses to break through
his self-imposed barriers
believes he is helpless
against the invisible foe

Pain is unacceptable
not a legitimate entity

pain has planted
thorny swords of barbed wire,
prevented easy access
pain wrapped in self loathing
cannot move or grow

tears of self pity,
cover him like unshakable slime,
his fears convincing him
the pain will not desist.

self-flagellated
wounds ooze thickly
He tells himself
"it's all I am meant to be,
just pain"

A most despicable Beast,
unworthy and shamed,
is but one who needs
tender healing, love nonetheless.

Dear Beastie,
I come to you,
my hand outreached to comfort,
yet, you stab me with your lightning bolts,
unwilling as a cowering porcupine.

You can only unleash your pain yourself, I see.
Did you know I was once like you?

By soothing voice, I sing to you.
By soft-coated whispers,
I encourage you to breathe,
and unwind the chains
you have wrapped about yourself.

Hiding in the poppies
locked you further away,
brought increased harm and alarm
No remembrance of who you are.

And so, I calm my pain focused mind,
my aching heart, my stress-filled body
to accommodate your need for undivided attention,
your need for redemption of your false beliefs
to embrace what I once thought was the enemy

Without your spiky Armor,
you appear quite harmless.

With your oozing wounds placated,
your tears dried away,
you are quite a cuddly creature
and purr readily when petted

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Art created by Xavier Rodriguez

Quiet Steady Rain

Branches dance to orchestration
chimes caressed by the wind
water dripping between spaces
so many pebbles pounding the roof
gutters rush to find a way to meet with wet soil

Stretching antenna, snails head for high ground
water dive bombing around them

Trailing ants gone
safely stowed in the attic,
or deeply burrowed beneath soil.
Can they manage the onslaught
of rivulets flooding
their collapsed corridors?

Opened window listening
Sonata plays full volume.

Water splayed upon window sill
Cats shake their paws
watch with piercing eyes
to see where each drop
ends it's journey

No resounding thunder, no lightning strikes
just the windows mumbling to the whispering wind
the conversation during intermission lulls me to sleep.

Elizabeth Munroz

January 2010

Eternal Change

Inner pain, outer pain,

it all exists for the benefit of change,

Thoughts are only shells of ideas,

hopes are soft feather-down 

from angel's wings.

and rain is the tears

from every heart ever bled.

Death embraces all things
in one final ecstatic love.

Fear gives rise 
to the quest for answers,

and truth sheds light 
throughout the shadows of shame.

Laughing dolphins have more intellect

than stars shining from the darkness.

Yet darkness holds the key to deepest joy.

Whispering trees haunt the living forests
while fallen leaves dance on rock faces 
just to tease the sky.

And little children without legs 

are forced to watch their fathers murder.

Hearts break for all the wrong reasons.

Nothing can be grasped with closed fingers.

Swirling coldness dries up the ground before putting it to sleep.

Remember... Eternity is just a breath away.

To Cayuga Creek and Niagara River

Once, there was a dream, never-ending,

flowing greatly within my heart’s happiness.

Capturing the last remnants of summers' heat,

the multi-hued pages of flame,

drifted lightly in the hands of the wind.

I ran alongside the swift stream bed

wondrously chasing the buoyant colors.

And my heart could fly

when it reached land’s end.

No barriers to my joy

I followed the merry journey onward,

through the singing waters.

Until the river opened wide

quickly rushing beneath that grand island bridge.

Leaves excitedly danced,

and took little leaps through the rapids

until they jumped off the crest of the waterfall

to be carried,

once again, by the wind.

Elizabeth Munroz

Stop Searching

Blind Seeker

Somewhere out in the night
A lonely one calls
Seeking that which was never lost.

In it's sad head
It cannot comprehend
What is all around.

The deep indigo night
surrounds it's soul
Yet it will not see
The twinkling starlight.

Open eyes do not see
What the heart requires.
Resignation brings on the search.
Padding across the earth

The lonely one travels far,
Far from home,
Always wondering.

What is the purpose in all this?

All around, in every branch,
And drop of water lies the answer.

Elizabeth Munroz
June 1990

Heart Wide Open

 

Live each day with

heart wide open, 

take the pain

and the beauty

as it comes.

Life will be easier in the long run.

~Elizabeth Munroz

What to Name It?

When you become aware
you are faced with death,
you begin to live
every moment of your life
to the fullest extent
of your capabilities.

All the troublesome behaviors
others would aim at you
no longer have meaning.
They are not worth
your precious moments.

You take no guff from anyone
and you allow yourself to be free
in order to live out
whatever life you have left
as happily as possible.

Why can't everyone live that free in the first place?

~~~Elizabeth Munroz

Change

fascinate me
calm me
give me a sensation
beyond knowing
all that changes
remains unchanged

-Elizabeth Munroz

.