A Song for Iraq
Listen, people are crying
Listen, bombs are raining
Listen, missiles are pounding
Fires are spreading
Houses are burning
People are running.
Listen, mothers are screaming
Listen, children are dying
Listen, soldiers are bleeding
Death is growing
Hate is rising
Where are we heading?
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho,
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.
_____________________
(written at the 9th day of bombing April 2002)
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Halloween! Halloween!
Ghosts and witches in the sky
Vampires and Draculas in the graves
Bats and fireflies in the air
Zombies and skeletons on the run
Darkness dwells
driven out by light.
Actors in darkness gather
to spread fear on others
Plans for destruction, laid out
in their secret dark domain.
And yet light shines
to reveal the secrets
of death and darkness,
letting the lost Jack
carry a pumpkin of light.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Winter Is Calling
Winter is moving,
coming to claim
her space in open fields,
roof tops and traffic jams.
She comes winking,
proclaiming her time
and calling people to
feel her cold hands
and chilly warmth.
Now is time to open
the old wardrobes.
Take out the hats, gloves,
and other winter clothes.
Prepare them as winter
spreads her cape to
wherever she passes by
And smile as winter winks
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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The Woman, Stoned to Death
She's put on trial
convicted of a crime
for having betrayed her husband.
For violating
the moral code
of the land,
she stands in front
of the crowd
while men throw stones at her
until she falls down.
Hurrah to the law of the land
as the woman is carried
out of the arena of shame
to her own grave of rest
without a name.
And she is stoned to death
for her crime
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Christmas (Acrostic)
C is for Christ, a God-given gift to mankind
H is for hope of the world that is dark and cold
R is for reason of this great celebration
I is for ideals to make this world safer to live in
S is for the song of the angels, asking us not to fear
T is for time, sharing gifts with strangers and loved ones
M is merriment on the birth of Jesus
A is acceptance of the gift in our hearts
S is salvation to all who receive him.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Nuclear Testing
Nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands
Nuclear tests in the Soviet`s Kazakhstan
A mushroom of clouds
from the ground and the ocean
leaves a never ending legacy
of disfigured faces,
of mothers with jellyfish babies
of graves from cancerous tumors
in the human bodies,
and the continuing horror
of the rays of atomic tests.
Nuclear test in its horror
and legacy will forever dwell
in the memory of our fragile humanity.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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A Plea to Hurricane Sandy
Why should you visit today
when people in USA are
lighting their pumpkins
for the coming Halloween
and for the election of a president?
Why should a hurricane
of your kind pass along
the byways and pathways,
rivers, ports of lakes and seas
leaving again unspeakable
trace of your anger and fury?
Oh, hurricane, hurricane Sandy,
will you please just postpone
your visit, at least, for today?
_______
October 28,2012
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Fountain of God's Grace
The water is there -
ever-flowing, bursting
singing, dripping, cascading…
The flow may be fast;
it maybe slow.
But the water is there
never emptied, never dried.
It flows to empty
and aching hearts.
It reaches out to
to the rich and mighty.
It embraces those
who are left with nothing
except the choice to come
closer to this fountain.
And yes, this fountain of God's grace
grants the water of hope, the water of life.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Remembering Haiti
Imagine waking up from sleep
and be imprisoned by the heap
of rubbles and other falling debris!
Imagine waking up from sleep
and seeing your own home
swallowed by the open mouth of earth!
Imagine waking up from sleep
and knowing that your loved ones
cannot wake up from death!
Haiti, we lament with you!
We share your tears
as you try to rub your eyes
from the deep sleep of
loss, pain and sorrow!
_________
(January 14,2010)
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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Powerful Hurricane Sandy
Sandy gathered strength
from rivers and seas
flooding homes, fields,
markets and subways.
Sandy made a pact
with the strongest winds
knocking down trees,
buildings and other
man-made creations.
Sandy declared her power
over technological inventions
sending houses and streets
into days and nights
of darkness and cold.
Powerful Sandy
has just declared
her invincible power
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poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen
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