Torn

old truths
like mine
be mine or not
dreamless relics
in time
in rock
in sun
in wind abrading sand
a jack rockets leaps from a gone tree into the sun unafraid
and I see the tracks of an old lie
a piece of life frayed
torn at the edges

jppestana
12.30.17

Not I

so the poem
is not the poem
not to think only
not this day
not in these eerily fleeing shadows
the tears
not the cries
hearing pain
the weak voice in thin hills
not her wrinkled linen dress
worn yellow under the sun
so the poem is
not the poem
not the poem
not I

jppestana
november 25, 2017

Rising Skies

from the east
the sun and juniper suddenly become one
the blanket of blue mist 
the calm mountain the moment
all the small birds
soften in the gaze
the bright fish rise to the surface
like shards of broken sun
they run from his shadow
his diminishment amidst
the rising
skies

jppestana
november 8, 2017

A Short Walk

walk these clouds with me
without the sound of gentle feet
smooth skin sliding toward an intimate sky
take a chance
take the sweetest sleep
sing the hymn
of bright light
is this the next step
on the way to eternity
or reverse time
and return ever so slowly sweetly
to the memory
of this short walk

jppestana
august 31, 2017

Blink

see the sun absorb
the distances in me

wasps floating on the pool sip
indistinct in wind
little ripples

the beaten trees thrash about
somewhere the air breathes
a sigh of relief

the air is moist
the dust thick absorbs
cakes the sun

the blue seeps from the sky
the wind cries alone

idly I wonder about

blink

jp pestana
7.15.17

The Return

ask yourself
there
the return 
of hummingbirds
deep rains
glistening rose
purest
tear
air

did the showers touch
your sun filled skin
did the hummingbirds return
to the sweet nectar
yearning

a

quivering

leaf

jppestana
july 14, 2017

Absence of Shade

over cracked stone
it trickles
spills runs in the thin fissures
sunny bubbles explode
crater on smoothing waves
everything about him is still
in the absence of shade
she is the long days
drumming heat
she is like
wasps to water
sipping
stinging
in her
erratic
flight

jp pestana
june 19, 2017