Loss of the Magic Wand
When what comes out of the mouth
is blaming, complaining, shouting -
bitter herbs that poison the act of loving
When one is not able to welcome
neither give back any loving act
but instead receive it without thanking
When one ignores the other
as non-existent, not worthy to be talked with
neither worthy enough to be listened to,
Then the heart of the other,
the seat of love for everyone,
stands as a fallen red rose, forgotten
to be watered, untouched by a magic wand.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Heartbeats for Japan
What words to say
What verses to write
when watching the earthquake
and tsunami, casting their fury
over the House of the Rising Sun?
Who can measure fear
when watching death
before one's eyes?
Who can measure tears
shed upon those who die?
Who can bring back
lives and treasures
long time laboured
which simply disappear
at a wink of an eye?
Fragile humans are we
who by nature's fury
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Come, Let Us Sleep and Dream
Let us sleep and dream
Let us pluck out the stars
From heaven and plant them
in the ocean of mermaids.
Let us explore the castle
of fairies and paint the
stories of their flights
in long and lonely nights.
Let us sleep and dream
Let us sleep and dream
when days leave us scars
that let us cry and scream.
Come, let us sleep and dream
knowing that in our sleep
there we find mermaids
and fairies, tending our scars
by the magic of their sweet voice
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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The Earth's Call for Responsible Stewards
It is calling for compassion
It is calling for responsible hands
It is calling for stewards,
stewards to see and listen,
stewards to learn and act,
stewards to protect and love.
The earth is crying,
crying over destruction
in her hills and mountains,
fields, valleys and air,
seas, lakes and rivers,
plants, animals and humans.
The earth is calling
men, women, youth and
children to do their share
as stewards: responsible stewards
of what has been entrusted
from the beginning of time.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Between The Rich and The Poor
Who draws the gap between people?
They call them rich, they call them poor
The rich squander in wealth and abundance
The poor wonder what to eat next time.
Who allows injustice as iron fists
Smashing down the humble dignity
Of the weak, elevating the powerful
To decide what for the poor is best?
Who wakes up in the middle of the night
Feeling the grumbling hungry tummy
Over an open roof and empty plates?
Who orders trips to paradise during holidays
Hoarding bank shares and silver and gold?
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Shadows of Despair
When colours are all grey and black
When shining lights turn gloomy and dark
When hope for now and the future
Is switched off by the violence of the past
Then the focal point on life's meaning
Grows dim to the eye of the beholder.
How necessary it is to rise up from despair
To see the blinding, dazzling colours and lights
To face the future with courage and not fear
To wrestle with pain and accept it is there
To see meaning in all that's happening
To lift up the face of despair as part of life.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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The Icelandic Volcano
Such a beauty to the eye
Of immense height
That blends in the sky!
Like a sleeping princess,
She dances with mankind
In their waking and sleeping.
But in a shining April
2010 in a budding spring time
she vomits her lava and smoke.
Strangely enough, her beauty
Ejects fire and black smoke
that suffocate the sky
Thousands of flights are halted
Passengers are stranded.
Flight companies lose their assets.
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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To Be Alive
It is to hear rhythmic melodies
in the breathing of your own lungs.
It is to marvel at the vast space
between earth and sky
It is finding yourself as simple dot
in the vastness of space
and yet with great importance
as the fingers of stars and moon
wink at your sleepy eyes,
as the generous sun
bathes your whole body
with pleasure and warmth.
It is watching the flowers
opening their petals of smiles.
It is listening to the laughing trees
beside you, purifying the toxic air
which enters into your lungs.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Farewell in the Night
Goodbye to you, dear friend
The birds begin to perch on branches
It is time to sleep, time to rest.
The moon is waning, the sun
hides her face and saves her rays.
Goodbye to you, dear friend
as your mortal body resigns
from active labour, from nights
and days of hard work and leisure
to peace in your distant, forlorn grave.
Goodbye to you, dear friend
Let us cry our tears of regret
for not exchanging the last goodbyes
Let us fill the air with the aroma of
your memories in many dark nights.
_________________
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Of Saying Goodbye
It`s not the first time
I`m used to it now
The cold span of time and space
is ethereal years of longing
in the heart and mind.
When to meet again
when to speak in person
when to reach out
to hold each one`s hand?
The going, the saying of goodbye
eats up our voice in the quibbling lips
and releases our hearts
by tears flowing by.
Yes, I am used to it now.
Distance and space though
bridged by human inventions
are still there
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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