Of Stars and Servants
The stars shine in the nights
and on the stage, they sparkle
with much elegance and might.
They are idolized, iconized,
and spectators get infected
by this great fever as the stars
sparkle and shine.
While from below the ground
the servants lay their lives
in the remotest mountains,
slums, villages and valleys
where human needs are attended,
love and compassion, extended-
not seeking the grandeur
to sparkle and shine on the great stage
but willing to lose themselves-
excluded, secluded, persecuted.
The stars shine in elegance
[...] Read more
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
And the Waters Come Raging
And the waters come raging
like a month-long monsoon
spreading their fury in minutes
and seconds, making busy streets
of shops and houses into
deep sea of mud and graves.
And the waters come raging
like a giant thief in the night
unwanted, unexpected
stamping down on trees,
animals, cars and humans
flushing them out like
manure to a tunnel without light.
And the waters come raging
with the screams and cries
of the stranded on rooftops
the tears of those who cannot
save and find their loved ones,
[...] Read more
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
To the Lord on Parenting
You give way for love
to grow in the hearts
of both man and woman.
Thank you, Lord, for being
the source and fountain of love.
You give them a vow
to seal into a covenant
in marriage to seek
to build a home.
Thank you, Lord, for being
the carpenter of our families.
You give the gift of life
in a womb, a seed to nurture,
a life that can withstand
the strong winds of the time.
[...] Read more
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
A Tribute to the Filipino People, EDSA Revolution!
Such a courage
you have displayed
in confronting forces of tyranny
You say no to corruption,
dishonesty and degradation
that have long plagued our nation.
You say no to arms,
no to the mighty weapons
of the dictator
and by human barricades
of your million-presence
you give to our land
your bodies as the best sacrifice
that should die if needed
if only to restore
our freedeom and dignity as a people.
With your simple spirit
of faith and prayer,
[...] Read more
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Egyptian Revolution 2011
After 30 years
of silence and repression,
here they march on the streets
raising their voices
of discontent and neglect.
Here on the streets
the pros and cons in
the conflict meet
And the battle for
each other's interests.
is being waged.
Piles of stones and
stones after stones
are hurled at each other
as fists, and the more
powerful with their whips
and machineries of bullets
reign on the streets.
[...] Read more
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Christina Green, an Angel in Arizona
I see the tears of your father while
he retrieves the morning you come to
wake up him up and call him dad.
I see your proud mother beaming
with pride, finding you a loving angel
snatched and taken away from her sight.
You were born when thousands mourned
over the heinous attack in September morn
And your birth brought hope to the hearts
of sorrow, a new life born out of decay and fall.
Nine years of shining light of an angel
radiating from your face and one day
in one political rally, you fell down
counted among the dead and wounded.
What a short life of an angel
to remind us of the human madness
[...] Read more
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Beloved and the Sea
Swim into the sea of relationships
and see how plants and animals behave.
Among their own species, they live
in unity and conflict.
Swim into the sea of relationships
between man and woman.
Homo sapiens, as they are,
they too relate in conflict and unity.
For now they declare
their love in marriage
and tomorrow they dissolve their vows,
rejecting the beloved.
Oh, this sea of relationships
among humans - in harmony
and conflict, in pain and sorrow,
in joy, embrace and bed of tears!
[...] Read more
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
My Lonely Guitar
At a corner my guitar waves her hand
inviting me to pick her up, to strum her
strings, to find out if all her chords
blend in harmony with my fingers.
It is waving her hand before my eyes
as in those birthdays, meetings, teaching,
and parties where her strings were made
busy to play melodies to people around.
Tonight she waves her hand again
calling me to play with her our common
game of songs which others can sing along.
But I just cannot play with my guitar today.
For whatever reason let this lonely night
find out; let me sleep and let sweet melody
sleep with me in my dreams and
let my guitar help me find the right chords
for my lonely song.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
When A Child Is Lost
When a child is lost,
lost to unknown circumstances,
lost to suspicion of persons
with evil intentions,
then to the eyes of the parents
the lights of sun, moon and stars
have ceased to shine,
the blooming flowers in October
lose their fragrance,
and food doesn't taste
in the tongue.
When a child is lost,
then parents who plea
for their child's return
move us to tears
because children are not
goods to be stolen
but priceless treasure
to be cared for.
[...] Read more
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Beauty of Friendship
How can I resist the beauty of friendship
when it beacons the soul to rejoice
over acts of love and mercies?
How can I be deaf to the notes of friendship
when the act of rejoicing echoes melodies
of joy that brings sunshine to dark clouds of tears?
How can I ignore the beauty of friendship
when it is able to merge the past, the present
and the future in the common experiences in time
stamped in albums, videos and other images
reflecting our young and wrinkled faces?
How can I ever bury friendship
when it sows the seeds of beauty and joy
in the heart, when encounters are marked
by the wish of eternity in time,
of saying only hellos and never goodbyes?
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!