Beast

Confined to a cage,

A cell built upon apprehension

Self-loathing and insecurities

Cell engulfed by force field of resistance

And concealed under cloak of fear,

It endures: ageless and immortal

Eyes glaring, never blinking

Its focus: undeterred

Surefooted... restless

It paces, hauntingly, hither and yon

Breathing... deep... steady

Absorbing the miasmal phobia that enslaves it

As its body enters remission

Its mind philosophises

Every fibre of its being mutates

As it delves into the atoms of its impediment

And as beast evolves

The soma dissipates

And while new serum is prepared,

In the interim of applications,

Awareness breeds understanding

Enlightenment melts shackles.

It growls as it gnaws its prison’s walls

Teeth naked, fearless, unencumbered

I can feel its presence in my every thought

I see it in my shadow and in my reflection

Eyes glaring, never blinking, focus undeterred

Breathing... deep... steady

Teeth still naked,

Its heart beat pummelling the walls of my resistance

It yearns for freedom, for transfiguration

And as soma further weakens, comes infusion

Its paws become my hands electrically imbued

Its teeth... my impervious regalia

Its restless feet... my surefooted wanderlust

Its glare... my focus, undeterred

© José V. Guerra Awe

Scarecrow

Farmers have gone from horses to tractors

They’ve faced all kinds of improbable factors

While the scarecrow waits patiently in yonder field

Waiting to see what the farmland will yield

He’s seen different styles and worn many faces

All that with time the sunlight erases

Empires toppled and castles erected

He’s heard wedding bells ring and seen lovers rejected

Constitutions were written, great inventions invented

Distant planets discovered and world wars prevented

But the scarecrow holds true, diligent in his vigilance

Through the harshest conditions he upholds his stance

A true cosmopolitan, a worldwide sensation

The scarecrow’s a child of about every nation

From 8000 BC to post green revolution

His immortality is anything but retribution

And though his curiosity has forever been masked

A perplexing question for aeons has asked

“If I stand here safeguarding crops of all kinds

Who is the sentry of the food for your minds?”

© José V. Guerra Awe

War Drums

I want to dance...

I want to stomp my feet

To a swinging Jazz beat

Or a funky Soul flow

I want to sway my hips

To a spicy Salsa

To a Guaguanco

I want to tap my hands

To a feisty Punta

To some Ethnic Grooves

Most of all,

I want my heart to beat

My soul to move

To a thumping drum

I want my thought’s strings to strum

My vocal chords to hum

A symphony...

For peace

Yes... For Peace!!

Peace because...

The drums of war

Are drowning out the lively beat

I mould my life to

Peace because...

The screams of dying innocents

Are louder than the lyrics

To my favourite song

Peace because...

I want to feel the boom of a bass drum

Not the sonic boom

Of a fighter jet

Peace because...

I want to hear the rat-tat-tat

Of a snare drum

Not that of an M16

Peace because...

I want to hear the crash of a mighty cymbal

Not that of broken homes, broken dreams

And broken windows

Peace because...

I want to feel the thud of a thundering beat

Vibrating on my floor

Not that of balled fists against a poor man’s door

Peace because...

I want my subwoofer

To rattle the walls of my house

Not the rumbling engine of a tank

Peace because...

I can’t dance to this new sound

To this new beat

My feet won’t move

And my hips won’t sway

My ears can’t groove to the rhymes they spit

Or the tunes they play

War Drums can’t soothe my soul

And militant political propaganda

Is NOT poetry!!

So...

Give me handshakes

Not hand grenades...

Give me Cupid’s arrows

Not fifty calibre bullets...

Give me love songs

Not battle cries...

Give me ART!!

Not WAR...

© José V. Guerra Awe