Meus Poemas / My Poems

some of my work over the years

Poems for my son over the Years

A Year of Saturdays

The world can’t possibly end this week.Let me tell you why. You see, the other day, at least for at least a few minutes, anyway,I thought you were going to be 34.I had forgotten that I had changed a code that used your birthday and so I consulted it, and                  Without thinking                  I entered it instead, and for a moment, the calculator told me thatyou were younger, than you are. And I thought “Oh no! We don’t want anyone to repeat this past year, now do we?”Even though,This past year has been a lost one, and Like many,I’m easily confused about time and space; and sometimesIt’s worse than, say “Hmmm… Now where did I put my keys?”Because it’s beenA year of Saturdays.I can go outside on a Wednesday, and our streets are empty, and the stores are closed, like it once was here on a typical Saturday afternoonAnd things haven’t really changed inside our shell either, though our                  Plants are a little bit grander, And one can see that the dust is a bit more prevalent, And the tides of laundry and dishes still come and go. And,                  It’s all just, well, one day to the next. But I can say with assurance that it is your birthday this week. At least I think it is, no, now that I mull it over a bit, I am quite sure it is because the BBC´s “This Week in History”,  You can see the Challenger, and I heard myself saying to Milton, “Oh look, there is the Challenger, it must be Spencer’s birthday this week!”And I caught myself, thinking, has it all come to this? As year after year, things have gotten progressively weirder and stranger until, Now, we have all been hunkering in our homes for a year.Where the thought of exploding spaceships, no longer astonishes anyone anymore. And nowA year of COVID, and zooms,and fires, And there are those that reacted, “Oh yeah, a coup…”Yet,Just the thought of a grandson and a new granddaughter elevates the spirit, andkeeps me alive and feeling good and safe, because, as long as there are children and Legos and diapers and laughter and hugs, out thereOh and cake, there must be lots of cake!All is right!Besides, the world can’t possibly end this week, it is not in my google agenda!So, what was I possibly thinking?So, 35 it is!Ouro Preto, MG  January, 2021

The Angel Number Birthday Poem

 

Today we find 3 of our O´s

With an interesting pattern of 8 38 68!

Being 30 years between generations, where

Our ages present us with

Three 8´s

Symbolizing power, abundance, and limitless potential

All the while

Surrounded by a universe acknowledging our efforts.

And then I thought,

How, right now

You, my son, serve us as the middleman.

With your

Feet planted in the present, of flat tires, school drop offs and diapers

A father, whose hands

Hold those of his children, and those of his parent´s

And who during his annual visit

With Janus, allows us to see our

Connection to our past and future.

With you

Standing in the present,

And the grandchildren in the future.

And with

This old one feeling closer now

To the ancestors.

Who sit on his shoulders and whisper in his ears.

And where a few months ago he was mumbling to them

“No not now!”

So, on the bus back up the hill,

I thought how

The next 8´s will find us at: 18 48 78

Which seems quite doable,

And the ancestors all excitedly agreed

And one said, that if all goes well, we should make it to a 28 58 88.

And then one of them whispered,

“And here is when we get to chances and probabilities.”

As they all crowded around looking at this one: 38 68 98.

And all they could say was how it was difficult, but not impossible,

               One said, “Oh I don´t know” while another told them to “hush up now!”

And the chorus of those gone before us, looked up from their newspapers and knitting and

reminded me to “take your meds, get plenty of sleep, drink plenty of fluids,

And to take care to avoid any more of those pandemics and black ice!”

And it was then that we all realized, as the ancestors blew out your birthday cake candles with you

You see - it took some time for me to realize that when we do this, they are right behind us.

Looking on.

And as we walked from the bus stop,

And before they all went their separate ways for the rest of the afternoon,

We realized that by then, the present 8 and his amazing little sister may have grown us their own 8s!

And how

When you turn the number 8 you get the sign for infinity!

 

Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais

January 29, 2024