Elizabeth Padillo Olesen Poems

Their songs turn into weeping
as harpoons pierce through their lungs.
Their songs of trust and friendship
with mankind is silenced
...

She's put on trial
convicted of a crime
for having betrayed her husband.
...

You nurtured me inside your womb
You said prayers that I might be born
clothed with beauty, health and sanity.
You followed my growth and giggled
...

Fires in Greece and Indonesia
tidal waves in Papua New Guine
bombs in Tanzania and Kenya
bombs of revenge for Sudan and Afghanistan
...

The stars shine in the nights
and on the stage, they sparkle
with much elegance and might.
They are idolized, iconized,
...

The bell tolls not to alarm us
About a break of war
The bell tolls not to announce
The funeral of a great magician
...

It is blowing, it is getting cold
Birds are chirping, birds are resting!
The long sunny day is gone
replaced by the sudden onset of night!
...

We seal our mouths
with herbs of bitterness
and drown the words
which communicate.
...

From Angola to Cambodia
from Mozambique to Bosnia
from Afghanistan to Iraq and Iran
from Egypt, Kuwait to Somalia,
...

The earth shook
And the buildings collapsed
She and her friends were trapped
Total eclipse.
...