Rewind the Clock
Rewind the clock
back to the memoirs of youth,
and back to the memoirs of childhood.
See this fragile babe
wanting to live
sucking mother's breast.
Behold the day
as she managed to walk
and explored her world.
Rewind the clock
to see her bike
with her first schoolbag.
Gather the candles
being burned in the nights
in her choice of education.
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Your Birthday Party, Dingding
How can you gather 50 men and women
in your own home to eat the food you cook
to find their place in all the nook and corners
of your home without complaining for a space!
How can you manage to let them share
their talents to sing and dance over melodies
stemming from karaoke and microphone,
with the movement and rhythm in their body!
Such a great party you manage to run
every time you hold your birthday and
the birthdays of your loved ones.
Think how many times we have come!
You're such a great woman
with your charm to gather friends
and loved ones with your great hospitality
in the fellowship of celebrating life
over food, music and personal stories.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Friendship
Friendship is a seed
that sprouts from the ground
when an open hand is extended
when smiles and laughters are shared
when exchange of stories is heard.
Friendship is a plant
that thrives on the ground
when drops of rain fall down
when sunshine breaks through
the leaves to make food for life.
Friendship sprouts and grows
when love and care are extended
when deepest thoughts are understood
when laughters and tears and shared
when wrongs are forgiven for a fresh start.
Friendship is a seed, a plant
which sprouts and grows
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Tsunami and The Angel Of Death
You spread your wings and cover the earth
with the claws of your fingers
You touch the bottom of the Indian Ocean
and unleash your fury to many lands.
The waters, the source of life,
become the bosom of death
The fishes miss their homes
Children, men and women,
tourists and local inhabitants
lose their names
and like garbage they are dumped
into mud and mass graves.
Your strange visit at Christmas time
sends a revolting shock that gives birth
to unbearable anguish and pain
and those who remain cannot hide
from the shadows of your wings.
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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A Mother
How can a mother forget her child,
the child who is conceived nine months in the womb
the child that is cradled at daytime,
night time until dawn?
How can a mother forget her child?
How can a mother forget her child
the child who after the flow of months
has learned to stand and run?
How can a mother forget her child,
the child whose mouth imitates her mother`s tongue,
the child who after a year or two can say,
'Mama, I love you'?
How can a mother forget her child,
the child who is so dear in her own heart and mind,
the child that reveals the mystery of creation,
the beauty of growth and human interaction.
the infinity of our own universe
within its finite linear time?
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Sheer Egoism at Ramasola
Who else would not love his own image?
Even the crude Narcissius loved himself
in a pool of water.
We feed and worship our image
from the crude shadows in the still waters
to the bright reflections of the silver mirrors
and to the wise manipulations over the lenses
of the camera men.
We pose and change suits
giggle at the transfer of life
into the shiny papers and borrowed colors,
tailor our dead sizes,
enlarge these still-pictures
in frames and hang them on walls.
We pay the high cost of joy
of our tailored image
stamped on papers and tucked on wood,
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembered
66 years ago the atomic bomb blasted
below the heads of those in these towns.
How many hundreds, yes, how many thousands
were left to die, consumed by man-made fire?
66 years ago, the incredible showed its face
that death by hundreds or by thousands
be decreed by man, that the green land
and waters should stand barren and poisoned.
Never again should another atomic bomb
be blasted on another town or towns!
Never again should another Nagasaki
and Hiroshima be doomed to atomic curse!
But let their story be told to generations
Let the ashes of the dead float in the seas
and rivers, an eternal reminder of human fault.
Let this story be remembered and retold.
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Enter Into Our Jerusalem, Jesus
We bid you, Jesus,
come into our Jerusalem.
Enter into our hearts
where hatred and bitterness
can possibly lurk and thrive,
cutting out the petals of love.
We bid you, Jesus,
come into our Jerusalem.
Enter into our family life
where love and faithfulness
can possibly be choked
by thistles of fear and mistrust.
We bid you, Jesus,
come into our Jerusalem.
Enter into our working places
where stress, boredom and
discontent may eat away
all our joy and energy.
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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The Battered Woman
It is not the first time
that you land in a hospital
Here silently you lie down
with the blue marks on your
face, your arms and legs.
This time you are staying
for some more days and weeks
You have broken your feet.
It is not the first time
That you come here
And you call for help
from the monster you live with
who when drunk, beats you
like a horrible beast.
You have called for police
He has been put in prison
for a number of days
to pay for the price
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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A Psalm of Hope
When the world beats
the rhythms of joy and sorrow,
when our hearts keep the hope
to light the dark shadows,
when our hands touch the strings
for our common song,
then I know there is a way to go:
a way to peace
a way to hope
a way to light.
When a child is caressed
by love and kindness
and a stranger is welcomed
by our hands of faith,
when each moment bears
the seed of a bright new day,
then I know there`s a dream
to find and rebuild:
a dream for peace
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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