Monarca Rising

Category: hope

  • Maya’s Revival

    I wrote this as a background to my story, Daniel’s Dilemma (published in Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers). I wrote it in December 2016, before my trip to Cerro Pelon this past spring and before all of the present day attention to the horrors of human smuggling. I submitted it to be published…

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  • Leaving

    Leaving by Carmen H Gray My eyes hurt from all of the tears Like sandpaper when they shut out the world And in my mind’s eye I see Pretty poppies along those paths I roamed Eternal sleep in bright colors That belie their playful congenialness Like the blue and sunshine day And lush berries hidden…

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  • Little

    “I wish I had never got manic depression. When I was in junior high, I didn’t know what was the matter with me. It was as if I’d died or something.”-Daniel Johnston Little by Carmen H Gray Do you know how much I love you so? Your sweet black curls and those dimpled cheeks Thank…

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  • Today

    Today by Carmen H Gray   It’s Easter Sunday and April Fool’s I came across an old birthday card A token of a time when I was the perfect mother In my daughter’s eyes Before the cancer and the heavy stuff Before the hormones and the teen angst Now it’s all eye rolling and pfftsss…

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  • Trees

    photo by Ann Barnes The Dreamery Trees by Carmen H Gray A place to sit A spot to rest To climb To nest Your canopy Inspires me To be like you To transmute The residue Into something essential Your ancient knowledge Speaks to me You watch the things That live and be In non-judgment The wars…

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  • Billows

    Billows by Carmen H Gray Today I looked up and saw Ribbons of white summoning my eyes They reminded me how the time is now My hot breath the engine Forming billows of momentary exhaust In my own expansive sky For the ants beneath my feet Today I caught that second when His eyes met…

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  • Six Ray Sunrise

    Six Ray Sunrise by Carmen H Gray    I don’t believe in accidental incidents That bright ladybug I saw the day after he died Those hundreds of monarchs suspending me Upending me when I needed a sign to hang on The tower card pulled by my oldest Upon her leaving, saying gently to me Mama,…

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  • Wings

    Wings by Carmen H Gray I traveled into the black hole I was warned I’d be spaghettified Maybe I have been My heart was stretched My thoughts were ripped apart And all things were upended They said “you won’t make it back” Fare thee well “You will be dead to me” I heard But death…

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  • All That Is

    All That Is by Carmen H Gray When you were a tiny baby And bad things happened to good people My heart ached I closed my eyes and prayed to whomever And your soft face was conjured in my mind It gave me unadulterated peace Separateness is an illusion Even the photons know this Whispering…

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  • Tenderness

    Tenderness by Carmen H Gray Tender darkness with tendrils That reach deep into the aching Kissing our self-pity, rocking our illnesses So sweet and comfortable in our cocoons Tender silence from broken parts Of mauled noises that struck our ears Leaving us thrashing about But you have to be still to hear the softness again…

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