Category Archives: Guadalajara
Jar
An earthenware jar sits on the ledge of a terrace, Guadalajara, Mexico
An earthenware jar
fills to the brim with moonlight
and then overflows.
Haiku © 2018 and photo © 2016 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Moon”
Making Memories
Photo illustration for a Guadalajara Reporter story in 2016, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Someone made some memories,
Made them long ago,
Using a film camera,
And this is what I know:
The women in the photo
Do not smile or blink.
Their bland looks betray nothing—
One wonders what they think.
Each woman holds a doggie,
The doggies are quite still.
Were the little beasties drugged
And held against their will?
And what about the ribbons
The women do not wear?
Are they content with hair spray
To batten down their hair?
A hundred questions pop up
About this photograph;
Some of them are sobering,
And some just make me laugh.
Photo © 2016 and poem © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Memories”
One-Eyed Crow
Caged bird for sale, Mercado San Juan de Dios, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
A one-eyed crow
glares at me from atop
the roadside birch.
If it had hands,
it would be waving me on,
disgusted by my clothes and hair,
which are caked with mud.
But crows have no hands,
and they cannot wave,
nor can they carry sabers
to cut down their foes.
If I could capture that crow,
I’d put it in a cage
lined with newspapers
and sell it—cheap—
at Saturday’s flea market.
Instead, I am retreating
from its mocking tongue.
Poem and photo © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Sunday’s Whirligig #126
More Poetry Pantry #368 at Poets United
More Sunday’s Whirligig #126
More Poetry Pantry #368 at Poets United
Mirror
A mirror decorated for Christmas 2016, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
The napkins on the table
And paintings on the wall
Are pictured in the mirror,
The glass that sees them all.
But mirrors cannot picture
The realm within the soul,
Where Spirit speaks to spirit,
And crushed things are made whole.
Poem © 2017 and photo © 2016 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Ruby Tuesday Too
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Mirror”
Keratin
Advertisement for decorative fingernails painted on a car door, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
six nails in a row—
rainbow-colored keratin
beckoning to me
Haiku and photo © 2016 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Blue Monday
More Haiku Horizons: “Row”
Desperate Poems
A fallen mango, Guadalajara, Mexico
~~ 1 ~~
an orange crayon—
using its tip to scribble
desperate poems
~~ 2 ~~
swirling maple leaves
driven by a sudden gust—
first days of autumn
~~ 3 ~~
first days of autumn—
underfoot the leaves crackle
ancient melodies
~~ 4 ~~
growing vegetables—
her tiny backyard garden
yields the sweetest beans
~~ 5 ~~
the smallest orchard
blazing with bright red apples—
another harvest
~~ 6 ~~
little barn swallow
seeking a new nesting place
after last night’s storm
~~ 7 ~~
The old brass doorknob—
she buffs it to a high sheen,
and studies her face.
~~ 8 ~~
the sacred grotto—
only a partial healing
for the bent woman
~~ 9 ~~
The orchard’s border—
a young man stands by himself,
watching plums ripen.
Deciding whom to marry,
he turns away from the plums.
~~ 10 ~~
Seeking signs of life,
she climbs the sacred stairway
with fear and trembling,
barely able to shuffle,
for the knocking of her bones.
~~ 11 ~~
A four-year-old speaks
her first five-syllable words—
chickadeechatter,
sizzle-n-sazzle, and one
that no adult can pronounce.
Poems © 2016 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Macro Monday 2
More Sunday’s Whirligig #79
More Poetry Pantry #322 at Poets United
Clock
Ongoing construction in front of Guadalajara, Mexico’s cathedral
Sunday afternoon—
the clock seems to move slower
than on other days.
Haiku and photo © 2016 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Blue Monday
More Haiku Horizons: “Clock”
With You
Hogar de Niños, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Here I am with you,
sharing this special moment—
we are not strangers.
Text and photo © 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Blue Monday
More Carpe Diem: “Strangers”
More Postcards from Paradise at Recuerda Mi Corazon
sharing this special moment—
we are not strangers.
Text and photo © 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Blue Monday
More Carpe Diem: “Strangers”
More Postcards from Paradise at Recuerda Mi Corazon
Childhood Friends
Here I am with you,
sharing this special moment—
no stone on my tongue.
Text and photo © 2012 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Photo: Hogar de Niños, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
More Straight Out of the Camera Sunday
More Haiku Heights: “Childhood”
More Ruby Tuesday 2
More REDnesday
sharing this special moment—
no stone on my tongue.
Text and photo © 2012 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Photo: Hogar de Niños, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
More Straight Out of the Camera Sunday
More Haiku Heights: “Childhood”
More Ruby Tuesday 2
More REDnesday
The Puddle Spirits
The puddle spirits
hold each walker’s feet in thrall—
who will set them free?
Text and photo © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Photo: Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
More Sensational Haiku Wednesday with the theme “Spirit” here
More Mellow Yellow Monday photos here
More Shadow Shot Sunday photos here
More Weekend Reflections photos here
More Watery Wednesday photos here
More REDnesday photos here
hold each walker’s feet in thrall—
who will set them free?
Text and photo © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Photo: Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
More Sensational Haiku Wednesday with the theme “Spirit” here
More Mellow Yellow Monday photos here
More Shadow Shot Sunday photos here
More Weekend Reflections photos here
More Watery Wednesday photos here
More REDnesday photos here
