Cempasúchil Orange

“Cempasúchil is one name for "Tagetes erecta" or Mexican marigold. It was originally used by the Aztecs in religious ceremonies, and is still used in the Christian ceremonies of Día de los Muertos (All Souls' Day) on November 2.”

This is the month of remembry and rebirth. I’m blessed to be from a culture that celebrates life and death, that understand that to live life, one must remember death, an odd dichotomy to some. Like all co-opted culturas, Dia de los Muetros has rapidly become a linty of cool calendars, tote bags, mugs, t-shirts and tattoo designs stolen by Ed Hardy. (http://www.edhardysell.com/)

But for me, it’s an intimate event. I think of my father, dead at 32, of my grandparents, all three dead before the age of 60.

I think about my sister-in-law and her excruciating cancer battle. I think of Lau’s father that will soon pass, of the hundreds that pass on a steel tables, unidentified, of the one’s lost while crossing bordered into other lands. For them, I dedicate two poems from my manuscript, from the “Walls” Series. With respect, love and devotion, I remmber you. Tlazocamatli...

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Wall #5 (or After Silence)
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”  -Aldous Huxley

drip drip drop into
a tower of plates cup pots


Doggy Doggy rests
under sparse shade of the lemon tree
bowl dry
but baby builds a wall with legos
kicks it over with a tonka truck


captain crunch cereal from the tv
“collect them all- in specially marked boxes, NOW!”


the garage door is open
plywood table and a jar
of washers bolts nuts
but dad tapes over copper wires
exposed under the orange cord-
baby might touch it


radio la que buena waves in and out of tune
“para llevar, a mi amor..a. voy a buscar,
un rinconcito en el cielo"
but mom sleeps now, a long night
after the chemotherapy-
it has spread to the cortex.


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 Wall #7 (or Perspective Exercise)
“Death froze his exhausted face. The attackers lashed or punctured nearly every part of his body... As with most murders in Ciudad Juárez, police found no witnesses, no weapons. Only the battered corpse on the steel coroner's table carries clues to who he was and how he died.” -Julie Watson, Associated Press Writer, March 8, 2009

                                   under the circular

                                   light above, a praying mantis’
                                   arm, he lies on the table, toe peeking out the white

                                   sheet, a cream colored tag, brown ring

                                   string tied to bulging pinky toe.

she cries more when he’s
wheeled back to a wall
of small chrome doors.

[i don’t know

how to

write

a poem from this

if is should...]

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(Borgia Codex image showing duality. Photos for Dia de los Muertos: Day of the Dead)

Another October Birthday

            I seldom think about aging until I see pumpkins and large bags of candy on sale, stacked at the end of aisles or cluttering the cashier counters. October is my birthday month, and I share it with many other cool Librans. Aging... I don’t have many complaints about it, and I don’t run to wrinkle cream counters at fancy department stores to buy elixirs from a pseudo clinician woman in a white medical coat, dispensing advice on eye shadows and “crow’s feet.” I can say I’m surprised at how great my life is, like that I’m enjoying my time and place here in Seattle. Yes, I’m really enjoying living in Seattle, despite the rapidly dropping temperatures now. I have wonderful friends, job, and home.
So I wonder if this is by chance or astrological designation. I found “Astrological Sign” info on Libras and it’s all flattering(see below)! Much of it is seems general enough that it applies to my Aloe Vera plant.

I wondered about compatibility with other signs, like Scorpio, or Gemini or Aries, and THEN things became more interesting. Apparently I’m attracted to Scorpio’s sex appeal, and Aries strength, archetypal figure, and polar opposite-ness . In general, I’m to stay away from ALL signs except Leo’s (“They're both barmy about beautiful things. Music will gush out at all hours of the day and night and their walk-in wardrobes will be bursting with all kinds of clothes”), Gemini (Gemini and Libra have so much in common that sometimes there's no needs for words. They both need to feel an intellectual rapport with their paramour, because neither can fall for fools”), Sagittarius (“Their social life will sizzle as they're inundated with invitations to parties and get-togethers galore“)and Aquarians (This couple click the first time their eyes meet across a crowded room, because it's mental magic when these two get together”). Stay away from the 9, stick to only these 4... Hmmmm

Maybe that’s why dating is slow... Apparently, most of the posts I read say Librans are good lovers and the “most quintessential romantics.” Yes, we can be. Did I mention dating is slow? I confess a certain Scorpio had his divine poison on me. But that summer fling seems to be wearing off. By chance or astrological designation?

I can say that I’m happy despite having a mellow bday. No big party this year. I decided to save up for my next bday next year, where I hope to spend it on a beach somewhere in PR or DR or Hawaii...

Who knows, maybe the beach will be littered with my 4 compatible signs, all gushing to inundate me with “beautiful things”, “intellectual rapport”, and plenty of “mental magic”. Let just say, however, I won’t hold my breath waiting. Crow’s feet, after all, make GREAT nibble in good old fashioned chicken soup.

 I posted a picture of my 1st birthday. It was a smashingly wonderful First World Country Birthday Party!

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http://www.gotohoroscope.com/libra-meanings.html


This sign of Libra is represented in symbolism as The Balance. The Sun, the ruler of our inner nature, falls in Libra, the exaltation of Saturn. Their love of justice, combined with the need to be fair and even-handed contributes to that characteristic difficulty such people find in making decisions quickly.

These people are rarely lazy. They work hard, and also demand that their partners work just as hard. They have a strong sense of justice and fair play. It is pretty unusual for them to express anger, but when they do it is usually a storm.

They are extremely positive and decisive in all their thoughts and actions. They have great foresight and intuition, and are generally seen at their best when acting on first impressions. The fear is usually well controlled so the typical representatives of this sign usually looks calm, collected, and in charge of the situation. Good natured and loving, they enjoy talking to people, yet can also be very attentive listeners.
http://www.astrology-online.com/libra.htm


Libra! About Your Sign...


Libra is the only inanimate sign of the zodiac, all the others representing either humans or animals. Many modern astrologers regard it as the most desirable of zodiacal types because it represents the zenith of the year, the high point of the seasons, when the harvest of all the hard work of the spring is reaped. There is a mellowness and sense of relaxation in the air as mankind enjoys the last of the summer sun and the fruits of his toil. Librans too are among the most civilized of the twelve zodiacal characters and are often good looking. They have elegance, charm and good taste, are naturally kind, very gentle, and lovers of beauty, harmony (both in music and social living) and the pleasures that these bring.


They have good critical faculty and are able to stand back and look impartially at matters which call for an impartial judgment to be made on them. But they do not tolerate argument, for once they have reached a conclusion, its truth seems to them self-evident. But their characters are on the whole balanced, diplomatic and even tempered.


Librans are sensitive to the needs of others and have the gift, sometimes to an almost psychic extent, of understanding the emotional needs of their companions and meeting them with their own innate optimism - they are the kind of people of whom it is said, "They always make you feel better for having been with them." They are very social human beings. They loathe cruelty, viciousness and vulgarity and detest conflict between people, so they do their best to cooperate and compromise with everyone around them, and their ideal for their own circle and for society as a whole is unity.


Their cast of mind is artistic rather than intellectual, though they are usually too moderate and well balanced to be avant garde in any artistic endeavor. They have good perception and observation and their critical ability, with which they are able to view their own efforts as well as those of others, gives their work integrity.