TUS HIJOS - Kalil Gibran

Tus hijos no son tus hijos
son hijos e hijas de la vida
deseosa de sí misma.
No vienen de ti, sino a través de ti
y aunque estén contigo
no te pertenecen.
Puedes darles tu amor,
pero no tus pensamientos, pues,
ellos tienen sus propios pensamientos.
Puedes abrigar sus cuerpos,
pero no sus almas, porque ellas,
viven en la casa del mañana,
que no puedes visitar
ni siquiera en sueños.
Puedes esforzarte en ser como ellos,
pero no procures hacerlos semejantes a ti
porque la vida no retrocede,
ni se detiene en el ayer.
Tú eres el arco del cual, tus hijos
como flechas vivas son lanzados.
Deja que la inclinación
en tu mano de arquero sea para la felicidad.

El Viernes Pasado

Este verano me tiene cansada.
Me dice Roberto que debo ser vampiro o algo así, pues el sol casí me enferma solo de imaginarlo.
El Viernes pasado, de pronto me sentí llena de energía y sacudí bien los tapetes de la cocina, y lave el piso, hasta que quedó super brillante (son blancos los condenados ladrillos). Y de pronto me fijé que comenzaba a llover, corrí al jardín de enfrente para aprovechar el petrichor, y hasta me mojé un poco. Me sentía feliz. Feliz...hmmm ¡Claro! ¡La tormenta veranera, había oscurecido el sol y la temperatura había bajado treinta y cinco grados! (De 105°F a 70°F).
....Lestat ¿Estás allí?

HAIKU

rayos y truenos
las lluvias de agosto
limpian desierto


rumbling, proclaiming
the short-lived august showers
washing desert clean

HAIGA

five thirty a.m.

suddenly discovering

thunder moon setting

HAIKU

lazy summer eve
rediscovering backyard
through my grandson's eyes



tarde de estío
redescubro el jardín
junto a Matthew

Games with the Kids

Sometimes computers are really useful. The kids spent Thursday and Friday with us. So much fun! By the time they went home I was exhausted, but oh so happy! They really fill me with joy!

Algunas veces las computadoras son verdaderamente útiles. Los pequeños estuvieron con nosotros el jueves y el viernes. A la hora que se fueron a casa, yo estaba cansadísima ¡Pero tan contenta! Realmente me llenan de gozo.

clapping and tapping
guitar men, black eyed women
swirling and twirling

O~~

holiday weekend
front lawn littered with colors
water balloons war

4th of July

sitting on the roof
watching fireworks from afar
life in the desert

STARDUST

When the girls were very young, maybe nine and thirteen, Roberto got a job working the night shift at Kaiser. We used to stay alone in the house, only with Colochito to guard us. This was back in ninety-three, when there were no houses in front or back of ours, and the ones to the east, before the corner, were boarded up, since we were barely coming out of that recession. Well, here in the Mojave Desert, it is still pretty dark at night, but in those days it was much, much darker. We were fearless. Several times a year, and in the middle of the night, we would move the car to the very entrance of the driveway, and between it and the garage door, we'd put sleeping bags and pillows on the ground, turn off the outside lights, and lay down to watch shooting stars. We had it down, in August, we would watch the Persiads and in November the Leonids, and a host of others in between. (We have been very devoted to the Persiads, since they happen in the dead of summer and it is always nice to be outside at night, where its cooler.) The girls, Colochito, and I, would stay out there for hours, watching the sky, counting falling stars, making wishes, and telling jokes, singing show tunes in hushed voices and finally sharing heartfelt thoughts. Colochito, that doggie, would lie between us, calmly resting, and every once in a while, he would get up and patrol the yard, always the protector. When the celestial show would subside, we picked up camp and went to bed. It was especially fun in school nights, since we all knew we weren't supposed to be out there, but since I am the mommy, and I could not bear the idea of any of us, missing such beautiful display, it was okay. The next morning, we were sleepy but happy. My girls never resisted getting up in the morning to go to school after one such night, they knew we had shared something special and that made everything else simply fall into place.

Years later, in the spring of ninety-seven, Valen went to prom that was the time when comet Hale-Bopp made its spectacular appearance. On prom night, Natalie and I, went to see Valen enter the dance (of course she did not know we were watching...) and afterwards, we drove twenty miles outside town, and in the middle of the desert, turned off the car and laid down on its hood, to watch Hale-Bopp in all of its splendor. And there, quietly, we talked about how magnificent Valen looked entering the ball with her date, surrounded by her friends; and wondered if the three of us, were ever going to dedicate another night to watch the stars together again.