Picture Frame

I have an empty picture frame

With enough space for you

It’s just sitting here

Dusty, forgotten, still a little blue

Found it on my desk

While I cleaned it out today

Underneath the bills and take-home tests

Just there, not even in the way

I think it’s waiting for you

It just sits there

With nothing much to do

It has no image to share

It desires, more than anything

To reveal an image of you

With all the corners beautifully uncurled

Back when you were almost thirty-two

But it knows not what you look like

It doesn’t even know your name

It just sits there in the sunlight

Glistening... a lonesome picture frame

© Kathya J. Castañeda

Empty Hands

When the chalk dust has settled, her hands are empty

After the baby has suckled, her arms are empty

When the last chapter has been read, her hands are empty

After the car door closes, her hands are empty

When the phone goes down for the night, her hands are empty

After the meal has been eaten, her hands are empty

When the clothes and dishes have been washed, her hands are empty

After the bills have been paid, her hands are empty

When the mop and broom have done their job, her hands are empty

After she slips into her stiletto heels, her hands are empty

When the wounds have been cleaned, her hands are empty

After the reports are handed in, her hands are empty

When the kids go off to school, her arms are empty

After her love has been shared, her arms are empty

They are empty, but they are free

© Kathya J. Castañeda

Secretos de la Luna

¿Qué secretos guardará la luna?

Que me queda viendo, sonriendo.

 

¿Qué será lo que ella espera?

Que se pasea por la noche entera

 

¿Qué será lo que sabe la luna?

Que me recuerda de tu amor sin lagrima ninguna. 

¿Qué será todo lo que ella ve?

Que carga en su cara, La Virgen y su bebé

 

¿Qué secretos tendrá la luna?

Que nos rodea con su manto y nos ilumina.

© Kathya J. Castañeda

Forgive to Forget

I forgive you…

For all those nights you left me alone and went out drinking;

For the time you kissed that girl because you “didn’t know what you were thinking”;

For those nights I cried alone while you were sleeping;

For the hundreds of times you lied, didn’t call, didn’t write;

And for the time you ran away to hide.

I forgive you…

For the time you hit me, flung me, kicked me, insulted everything that was me;

For the other time you kissed that other girl when I wasn’t around;

For letting me board the plane, come back home, and face the storm alone;

For not having my back when I needed you most;

For not being here when I gave birth;

And for disappearing so quickly into the night like a ghost

You’re that one that is missing out,

Not knowing what your daughter is about.

You don’t have her light in your darkness,

Nor her hugs and her love for your loneliness.

You don’t have her in your life

And you sure as hell don’t have me as your wife.

But I forgive you. It’s the only way I can forget you.

© Kathya J. Castañeda

Forgive to Forget II

My Darling, forgive me…

For the nights you heard me cry, before you were born;

For the times I cried with you in my arms, 

Having my heart and soul completely torn;

For not giving you a normal family;

For not always having you beside me

Forgive me…

For the times I lose my head, I should just stop and hug you instead;

For not always having the money on hand

To get you a doll, an ice cream or that magic wand;

For the nights and days Mommy has to be away,

But Baby Girl we got bills to pay.

I want you to have everything you deserve.

Walking together our lessons we’ll learn, we’ll never be alone.

I’m with you every step, every turn.

Know that I love you,

And that we’re free of the thorn.

You are my rainbow after the storm.

© Kathya J. Castañeda

I Am That I Am

What’s so wrong with standing out in the crowd

Wearing green when everyone else is in brown,

Being down low when everyone is off the ground

Taking the left side when the others are on the right

What’s so wrong with putting up a fight

When the others stand back, out of sight

What’s so wrong with speaking my mind, being in the light

Singing out loud, out of tune

Dancing in the street and speaking to the moon

What’s so wrong with me wearing my heart on my sleeve

Knowing someday you might pick-up and leave

If you take some of my love, I won’t call you a thief

Just don’t be surprised if your departure is my relief

What’s so wrong with being unique

So what if I don’t shop at a boutique

What’s so wrong with working the fields

The rice and corn and cane and beans

Blistering my feet, getting stung by bees

Working in the world of the forgotten

Working side by side by them

What’s so wrong with looking you in the eye

And seeing if your words are nothing but lies

What’s so wrong with my feminine side

Do you think I’m weak, that I’ll run and hide?

I am that I am!

My strength is mine!

It’s been challenged sometimes

It’s been built with time!

What’s so wrong with me bearing my load

Walking barefoot on this road

I’m not alone!

Because I am that I am

Don’t need anything else

Just put me to the test!

© Kathya J. Castañeda

Forgotten Memory

In these recent days I’ve bumped into the memory of you

It haunted me but then I knew

That there was only one thing that I could do

That there was only one way out

So I informed Mr. Memory what the forgetting process is all about

He looked at me bewildered and surprised

Not noticing the pain in my eyes.

I took a deep breath, got my thoughts reorganized

Then asked him to just walk towards the white light

Disappear from sight

And to run quickly into the back of my mind

See, that’s where I keep some of my memories hidden from life

The darkness stifles them and sends them to oblivion

So I could forget the damage that you’ve done

And if I push this memory all the way to the back

I’ll eventually question its existence and it will no longer be a fact

I can then pretend that you never happened

And my mended heart will never again be saddened.

Now, if Mr. Memory must step back into my conscious mind

Just let him be prepared to surrender.

He’ll be tied to an anchor, tight

And then thrown into the open seas of a forgetful mind

Where memories sink, they drown and die

Never again to see the open skies

So just tell the memory of you

To do us all a favor and become obscure

Anyway, it’s been good talking to you again

It’s just too bad that the memory of you is walking down

“Forgotten Memory Lane”

© Kathya J. Castañeda