Refuge
A pile of stones near Ajo, Arizona
summer afternoon—
some stones provide a refuge
for frightened lizards
Haiku and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
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Quest
A makeshift water jug, abandoned by someone who crossed the U.S. border illegally in the Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
They flee their homeland in the night,
Leaving kith and kin behind;
They look for somewhere to alight,
A place that offers peace of mind.
A haven from all storms they seek,
Where peace and love and joy are found;
A place where all the poor and weak
Rejoice and stand on holy ground.
From north and south, from east and west
The dreamers come, their eyes alight,
Loath to interrupt their quest
Of finding refuge from the night.
Poem and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Sanctuary
A seaside sanctuary, Puerto Nuevo, Baja California Norte, México
I will build a sanctuary,
using nothing but a piece of string
a beam, and a post.
It may seem inadequate,
or a mean affair,
but it will not shake
during times of earthquake,
nor will it leave me poor,
for in it my soul will be reborn
as old, familiar prayers trigger
freshets of new meaning
into my everyday life.
It will carry me through
flood and fire, locust and hail,
or any other plague that comes.
This is what a sanctuary is for,
and this is why I pick this place
beside the sea.
Poem and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Blue Monday: Garden Goddess
Robert J. Moody Demonstration Garden, Yuma, Arizona
Although her arms are broken
And her feet are crumbling fast,
The little garden goddess
Seems to last and last.
In every growing season,
Whether summer or in spring,
The little garden goddess
Doesn’t miss a thing.
She sees the roses blooming
And a hungry little bird;
She sees tomato hornworms,
Though her eyes are blurred.
She keeps watch every morning,
Every midday, every night—
The little garden goddess
Makes sure all’s just right.
Photo and poem © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Bliss
A heart drawn in the sand by lovers, Puerto Nuevo, Baja California Norte, México
I hate broccoli—
loathe the stuff.
But it is bliss
to kick off my sandals
and draw on the beach
with my toes.
It is rapture
to wear a different wig each day
and keep people guessing:
“Who is that woman?”
And when I purse my lips
to kiss you? O what delight!
I don’t even worry about the dents
I got in my car last night!
Poem and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
NOTE TO THE READER: Some elements of this poem are autobiographical, but I am NOT a hater of broccoli! The declaration of antipathy toward that particular vegetable just happened to work with this poem.
More Sunday’s Whirligig #121
More Poetry Pantry #363 at Poets United
NOTE TO THE READER: Some elements of this poem are autobiographical, but I am NOT a hater of broccoli! The declaration of antipathy toward that particular vegetable just happened to work with this poem.
More Sunday’s Whirligig #121
More Poetry Pantry #363 at Poets United
Dangers
Yuma Conservation Garden, Yuma, Arizona
This garden is fraught with dangers.
Text and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
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Matins
Palo verde tree just before sunrise, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
wilderness matins—
a new song spills from your beak,
little desert dove
Haiku and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
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More Haiku My Heart at Recuerda Mi Corazon
Lone
Indigo bush, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona
Lone indigo bush—
not even a mourning dove
clings to its branches.
Haiku and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
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More Haiku My Heart at Recuerda Mi Corazon
When I was a girl
A mural on a house in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, México
When I was a girl
I wanted to be someone’s wife,
washing his dirty clothes,
then hanging them out to dry
on leafless bamboo poles.
But the day I saw a blackbird
in the backyard bath,
its eyes aflame with fire,
I felt within my skin a stirring
to make paintings
envied by both monk and nun.
Now masked, with brush in hand,
I steal out every night
to splash the darkened city walls
with light, and then more light.
Poem and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Sunday’s Whirligig #120
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Masks”
A mask on the wall
Mask on the bathroom wall of artist Anado McLauchlin, La Cieneguita, Guanajuato, México
A mask on the wall of the bath
Represents such unholy wrath
That bathers do quake,
And shiver and shake,
While viewing the mask in the bath.
Limerick and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
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