Gravy

Gravy
By Reza Rites

Thought you were the one
But it’s gravy

Thought I had the job
But it’s gravy

Thought you would include me
But it’s gravy

Thought you wanted to love me
But it’s gravy

Thought that was my fate
But it’s gravy

Thought you wanted my voice
But it’s gravy

Thought you read my work
But it’s gravy

Thought you wanted access
But it’s gravy

Thought you hated racism
But it’s gravy

Thought you respected women
But it’s gravy

Thought you believed in fairness
But it’s gravy

Thought you valued communication
But it’s gravy

Thought you wanted diversity
But it’s gravy

Thought you cared for the kids
But it’s gravy

Thought you used science
But it’s gravy

Thought you liked equality
But it’s gravy

Thought you believed weed was evil
But it’s gravy

Thought you changed the rules
But it’s gravy

Thought you didn’t believe in murder
But it’s gravy

Thought I was standing here
But it’s gravy

Thought I deserved a hello
But it’s gravy

Thought I was first in line
But it’s gravy

Thought I was the customer
But it’s gravy

Thought I was the boss
But it’s gravy

Thought you said collaboration matters
But it’s gravy

Thought you said we were friends
But it’s gravy

Thought my world would end
But it’s gravy

Thought it was okay
But it’s gravy

Sacred Motions

Sacred Motions
By Reza Clifton

I know I shouldn’t be crying
Is part of her process
An expedition through speculations
Consideration
And guilt
That sometimes breaks her
In two
Mitosis the gospel
Of the soul

Should the tears flow
Remember
The pool around your feet
Eventually dries up
But liquid is required
Before evaporation

I don’t know why
I feel this way
Is part of the process
A detour from the day
To day
Where losses usually
Dissipate
With the onset of moments
Of joy
That splices the hand
That feeds you
Into infinitesimal pieces
Of nourishment
Unless it doesn’t

Embrace the confusion
And the questions
As the answers serve
As the bridge
You cross
During your expedition to
Life, humanity
And mortality too

I don’t know if this makes sense
You say
As you combine bits of their story
With your own
Seeing connections invisible
To the naked eye
And songs silent
To the ears of most

But you know the tales
That live in your heart
And you are
The author
Who combines and scribes
The days of the dead
With the birth of
The babes
And the flowering of
Earth’s seeds

Your sacred motions
Run the world
Ease your pain
And speak
Our truths

Your sacred motions
Run the world
Ease your pain
And speak
Our truths

Thank you for
Your sacred motions
With you I move
Too

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Love and Slumber At My Door
A Haiku* By Reza Rites

Dreaming has begun
Though slumber knocks at my door
Love replaced the stars

* A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression (https://m.poets.org/poetsorg/text/haiku-poetic-form).

On a date with destiny…

On a date with destiny…
By Reza Clifton

Rule 1 when out on a date with destiny:

Know what you want
Even practice saying it
But leave room to learn that
You might want more
And try not to pelea(1)
And evita(2)
The shift

Rule 2 when out on a date with destiny:

Write up questions
And notes
But listen intently
Sometimes what you hear is there
Sometimes it’s not
And to miss it could be like
Missing the harvest moon
And settling for
It’s normal altura(3)
And facade
While knowing the gold
And copper
Was so close

Rule 3 when out on a date with destiny:

Make appointments
And aim high
But desparrama(4)
Your kindness
And laughter with everyone
In route
As if joy
Was the antidote
To the Black Plague
Called life
And your diaphragm was
It’s source

Rule 4 when out on a date with destiny:

Your role is to identify
Declare
And claim it
So claim it
If you can
But remember that
You
Won’t always
Get it
But todavía(5)
Centellearás(6)

* 1 – fight; 2 – avoid; 3 – height; 4 – spread; 5 – todavía; 6 – sparkle.

* Spanish words inspired by Pablo Neruda

Renewal of Darkness

Renewal of Darkness
By Reza Rites

Sometimes I wonder if darkness
Is best
For there are times when renewal
Arrives with suffering
And painful wondering
Wandering
As if the maze I walk
Doubles as a coffin
Where my body will one day
Lay
Taken by curiosity

Sometimes I wonder if darkness
Is best
But the dangers that lurk there
Cannot steal more than the
Heart
Which you took
As though my arteries
Were cash
And my veins
The credit
You need for your next steps
And individual journey
At a time when I thought
Renewal was mine
When in fact
It was yours

Sometimes I wonder if darkness
Is best
Still I can’t deny that our renewed
Love
Brings me light
Laughter
Life

And a break from
The darkness
Even through
The black

Crafting Archipelagos

Crafting Archipelagos
By Reza Rites

Crafting words
But falling
Into an archipelago
Of nightmares
And notions
Where all of life’s
Precious gifts live
Slightly out of reach
Thanks to a reef so
Great
That it shields
It’s secrets
With layers of colors
Textures
And civilizations
Still unexplored

I will write you
Today
Instead

Tomorrow
The nucleus of
An opus
Awaits