Elizabeth Padillo Olesen Poems

Touch my heart
so I can catch
the images so much alive.
Touch my ears
...

Alcohol, wine bottles
Hash, pot, marijuana
Cocaine, coke, cracks
Amphetamines, hallucinogens
...

What words to say
What verses to write
when watching the earthquake
and tsunami, casting their fury
...

Rewind the clock
back to the memoirs of youth,
and back to the memoirs of childhood.
...

Feel the moment
And be present.
Smell the aroma of the moment
And never show that you are absent.
...

Sacred
sacred right,
the right to vote.
...

Ring the bells!
Play the drums!
Turn on all the lights!
And let the music sound!
...

You are shot dead for pilfering a sack of rice
and they call you a thief, a robber,
...

Visit this river, this silent river of life
See its secrets hidden in the deepest bottom
Measure its height, its width and breadth
And know that you are before a river of silence
...

Enough of your weapons
To window power and arrogance!
Enough of your words of justice
to defend the defenseless!
...