New Poem: You

After a long absence from my poetry-driven blog, I'm submitting a recent poetry piece that's introspective and timeless, about the most universal of topics: love. Yet, it isn't all introspective as it's not about anyone or anything in general; it's about the meaning of it and it's impact on one's life. Hope you enjoy it. I would appreciate any comments.


YOU

You are words without sound

that when spoken detonate love

You are the calm that came after the storm

but, stayed long enough to rebuild

You were a thundercloud

while my breath held lightening

You are my ink to paper

that births verbs into metaphors

You oscillate wildly

in an aching Smiths song

You are the last record store

who stays reluctantly open at the edge of the world

You are a sweet euphoria that when

remembered puts together the perfect cast

You are my Paris

when Poteet is all I needed

You are the flag which my heart unfurls

ready to abhor any war or score

You are a living poem

that breathes inside of me

You are a slow burning ember

crackling a lifetime of memory.

© Rafael Andrade Garza, November 28, 2015.

Original Poem: The Greater Space

The following poem was inspired by a audio video of a Nasa probe of space around 2003. The video highlighted haunting voices and electromagnetic pulses in space that when heard capture what may be interpreted as voices, collisions of sound, friction etc in space. I was enamored by the sounds captured and it resulted in the following poem. Thanks for reading it.

The Greater Space

There was a voice capture of space in 2000-2003
By Nasa, it raised fears, suspicions, assertions
the rumblings have little facts
a possible fact, some measure of life
was attained
be it by light, sound or image
the rings of Saturn called her lover
the song of Earth
raised desperation to the brink of sunrise
Saturn so far,
has calculated more than her rings
Here on Earth
we hear it all
Albeit, from a distance
the abstractions
constant interactions
a blip,
a sound,
a molecule
trying to reach out
for something other than it's deity
circumference circling around
to let us know
to grab a phone
point at the heavens
cower into the unknown darkness
we have a visitor
it could be our past creations
trying to secure
a passage into the future.

(c) Rafael Andrade Garza, August 20, 2014.

Original Poem: Divided We Fall

After a bit of a hiatus, I bring you a recent poem centered on a conversation I had with a friend about the greatness of Pink Floyd and how their message and lyrics transcend generations. This poem talks about Roger Water's dream or visions and what might be inside his head. I hope you enjoy the poem, thank you for reading and being patient blog readers.

Divided We Fall

I bet Roger Waters
fantastic dreams at night
final cuts
pigs in the sky
creating a world at peace
and piecing together bridges of youth
taking apart the animal inside
is no easy task
quiet desperation is the English way
wars are socialized marketing schemes
and carefully placed drones fall
on the cruel and innocent alike
We all rather be walking in the war
than playing lead roles in cages
But we are all entangled in comfortable battles
in which we are meant to fight in the company of strangers
grouped affairs or solitary flares in the abandoned sky
Whatever words between them
momentary lapses of reason
Bliss such sweet treason
Waters has a repeating dream
that Syd, David, Nick and Richard
are washed ashore
prisms hit the beach
 while the red tide is coming
and Syd grabs the last rainbow by its neck
David serenades the moon to light her stars
Richard plays a melody stirring the currents
Nick strikes a balance in the right light
such sweet sound
their possible pasts drowned
for a minute all was alright
until their walls came up
Who's in command?
David hopes
Roger responds,
We should be closer.

(C) Rafael Andrade Garza, May 20, 2014.

Original Poem: Vanquished City (Tele-graph Poem Series)

It's been a good while, since I've posted on my blog. Time to give it some love. It doesn't mean I haven't been busy working on my writing and other endeavors. I've been working on a new poetry book, centered around the idea of poems written in telegraph style, with the "stop" at intermittent points or pauses and usually around the themes of love, protest and even historical moments in world and U.S. History. This is an example of such a poem, hope you enjoy it.


tempered lights don't produce as much clarity, love.STOP. red sheen in the bedroom window. STOP. invites passion. STOP. Swells with seasons.STOP. and the leaves only turn color when they want to.STOP.  I have stopped stepping over cracks on sidewalks. because, the world is broken.STOP. I no longer point at falling stars.STOP. love has failed us too many times.STOP. we're all just a little broken.STOP.

Original Poem: A response to Mr. Floyd, "Pounding these Emotional Walls"

     Once again, I pulled another poem from my vault, it focuses on a response to Pink Floyd's emotional rocker, "Hey You".  Since I was a kid, I've been a huge fan of Pink Floyd, as this band was passed down from my older brother Juan, who's always had great taste in music, especially rock. From an early age, He introduced me to Queen, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Bad Company, UFO and of course, Rush! This particular Pink Floyd song, has always clung to my heart, because it asks more questions than supplies answers and it asks us to examine ourselves. The lyrics expose our limitations as humans and the ways we harm ourselves and society. "Pounding these Emotional Walls", focuses on the questions asked in the song and tries to supply some answers, 30 or so years later, in my understanding of my world. Hope you enjoy this piece, please comment!- Rafael Andrade Garza, 2013 (c).

Pounding these Emotional Walls


Hello Mr. Floyd, I felt the cold
Living lonely, hearts fold
Will you echo again?
Hey you, I'm tapping these walls
With sticky situations and numb expressions
I felt the cold
Hey there, there's only diminishing light out here
And only wet candle wicks inside

Hello there, out here on my own
I'm fully clothed but my heart is exposed
I reach for you
Hey there, I cup my hand to sound
It's just that there's no cell phone around
I reach for you
But, these stones are more than two can carry
Without a destination for home, my heart is wary

But we're living in reality
And no visible walls in wi-fi,
As you can see,
No matter how hard we try
We can never escape
Our thinly disguised government veils

Hey there, I'm at your block
Resisting to what I'm told
What can I do from here?
Between accepted curtains of separations
And these so-called right conservative reparations
Hey you, it seems like there's no hope from here
Hearts fall like walls in a crumbling emotional veneer

(power…twin towers)
(bricks…bones)
 hearts alone

 © Rafael Andrade Garza, Oct. 13, 2006.

photo courtesy of www.tumblr.com

Poem: Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler

 light is inverted darkness
when the sunlight
hides in a mad eclipse
So my days now
resemble little hope
as I'm afraid
to see the world
through a cardboard hole
My love is gone
lost in a puff of red crimson smoke
the years that held us together
slipped like a bedroom sheet
ghost to the floor
either hot or cold
light and darkness
fight inside
sparring with myself
blurred by anticipated
late night phone calls
and weeks old texts
I'm too weakened to attest
to find that light
at the end of that proverbial tunnel
I've crawled enough on my knees
so skip that supposed light
I'd rather drown eclipsed
basked in these bullet-ridden emotions
soul bleeding out of me
hand to hand combat
cartoon crimes
I've hung up my brave cape
no longer willing to fight
for love or the justification of it
I'll leave that for another team
I, marvel girl-
how you calmed the storm
manifested in that kiss
But, nothing came of this
I'm content to wear the night out
mocking building shadows
settling old scores
ambush hellfire
teleport undetected
manifest my destiny
before the morning comes

(c) Rafael Andrade Garza, May 09, 2013.

photo courtesy of www.fanpop.com

Poem: Caterpillar Star

Today, I dug up another poem from the vault. This poem centers on soul searching and finding out who you are as a person. It's also about leaving friends and your past behind. It's an emotional piece about self-discovery. Thanks for reading-Rafael Andrade Garza.

Caterpillar Star

A new story begins
and takes residence
under the wrinkled avenues
of my brown eyes
where memories form
tier by tier
sometimes, dried-in years
I no longer fear
of, what the past might bring
I'm an old apartment
renovated for rent
You came to see the lay-out
and were surprised
to find my heart inside
over-looking a busy street
searching for understanding
again, and again
Today, I feel consumed
in the nebula of love
and, I'm lost in its interstellar dust
I'm enjoying its mystery
and, as I cascade and fall
into the mass of million eyes
I crash and collide
into the same starry-eyed characters
with the same stories
but, different names
It all sounds so nostalgic to me
It feels as though I'm dreaming awake
As I thaw out of my old self,
I sink back into the Earth
I sometimes get lost
searching to find my street
Since, everyone in my old neighborhood
has moved away
I have remained;
Because, once I had a good excuse
Now, I just wait to fade away.

© Rafael Andrade Garza, 2005.

photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Poem: Workmanship

I wrote this poem sometime back and it came together rather easily for me. The idea for this piece came to me while watching a diamond commercial on tv. The sound was muted but the message was clear as to intricate process of the diamond cutter process. It led me to compare of how we must also be the work of a higher God and that we are fashioned with purpose.  Hope you enjoy the poem. Thanks for reading-Rafael Andrade Garza.

Workmanship

I've never investigated the steps
a diamond maker makes
but, I do know that he has to cut
the perfect shape
the right light that shines
a task that few have chiseled
just like the almighty creator
who fashioned us after his image
but, our voice is our voice
and our steps are signaled by outlines
drawing our paths in this life
so, careful to the cut
pressure and time
a perfect life is made
so, it shines
testament to the handy work
proof to the labor
an act of love.

(c) Rafael Andrade Garza, May 10, 2012.

photo courtesy of shutterstock.com
 



Poem: Firewalker

This poem was brought about by an attraction that never really saw the light of day. Love is such a universal theme and this particular story doesn't end with the two desperate ever coming together. Sometimes, the unknown is far attractive than the actual notion of getting together. Please comment below, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading! -Rafael Andrade Garza

firewalker

Some kind of fire

You had over me

Burning, smoldering

Even the farthest memories

Punished me

At first sight,

Your golden hair

Fanned the highest flames

Porcelain doll lips

Kept hinting, suggesting

You played cleverest of games, girl

Unforgiving time passed

I saw that the color of  your hair

turned dark chestnut

seemingly innocent lips

now outlined in black soot

You quieted the flames, girl

You shushed those emotions

and ate heartbeats

like hospital scanners

surrounded by cupped prayers of return

I finally let the wick go,

Yet it still irritates

More than it burns

Agitated now and then

by Hollywood romantic notions

A gift of that grand fire

That did engulf you and me

 I’m a firewalker now-

Your fire didn’t cleanse me

Those drafts and beaten tracks have gone

“Now I'm saving all my loving
for someone who's loving me” x 2

© Rafael Andrade Garza, November 16. 2011.