Change (the only constant)

     I am attempting to be more disciplined but I did not go swimming last night.  Time just slipped past me as I was trying to fix my laptop (my Skype is running too slowly)... but with a few exceptions I am going to the gym and pool almost every day these days... it is part of a self-imposed "discipline" a Spartan revival of sorts in preparation for big challenges that are looming around the corner. “Mens sana in corpore sano”.
     The topic of this blog came up as I reminisced about the day I was having a cup of coffee with a dear friend about two weeks ago.  In the middle of our conversation and without pretensions on my side, the following phrase slipped from my mouth:
    “You know something my dear… change is the only constant in my life”. 
     But as I said that, she interrupted me in the only way she knows how to interrupt, that is, very gracefully.  She repeated my words slowly looked straight at me and smiled.
     “I love what you just said”, her eyes sparkled with admiration “change is the only constant in your life”. 
     At that point she made me reflect and those words echoed with meaning!
   “Yes, so true” I said, “as paradoxical as it sounds, change is the only constant in my life; I feel like a rolling stone for I will never gather moss”. 
Considering the deleterious consequences of my inability to grow mo$$ as the privileged do, I would say that my remark is an accurate assessment of how I have lived my life so far.
    My friend is such a precious gem, those that pirates like Eaglehook would like to retain very dearly at any favorite port!  If I were to describe her most prominent attributes, I would certainly include her enchanting femininity and alluring scent!  Oh my goodness …. Hot, hot  “candela mujer”!   I love the way she makes me feel important and much wiser than I truly am! 
     For those of you who are not familiar with my blog, Eaglehook the pirate is the main character of a spicy fairy tale I have started and that is still on the works.  He is a survivor, and for that he needs to be responsive to change otherwise he will be defeated by the witch of prejudice.  He is committed to save the Queen (of all desires) from this hideous witch, but instead got himself trapped by a platoon of three-headed hounds and grotesque goblins sent by the witch.  Now he lays captured in a dark dungeon, left to rot! 
     Eaglehook not unlike his utmost foe, the witch, is also a master of deception; I am certain that he will get himself out of that hole.  He has the unbending will of a hero and lives his life accordingly. He is resolute to the point that he would be willing to sacrifice his flesh and in turn have his invincible spirit execute his ultimate maneuver to save his loving Queen.
     I admire his high standards and tonight I wish take him out of the dungeon so that we can learn from him in a different way... Let’s recall what I wrote about him back in April last year, on the episode called “The Witch of Prejudice”. 


Fly to burn (cm Apr/09)
For a taste of your black magic
Wicked witch let me succumb;
And be devoured by the rats
That infest in your filthy dungeon.
You have captured me in good time;
Go ahead and let me die
For the flesh that you have caught
Lives a the spirit of a moth
Thwart your plan is my delight
Spin and gyre round your lamp
Wings in smoke I drop my poison
Drink to implode your wicked soul.


     There you go, that was a snapshot of his spirit - cheers, to you Eaglehook. 


A world traveler, he has circumnavigated the oceans countless times. That is why when I think of him I imagine him provisioning the “Black Pearl” in preparation for his next adventure. Of course along with his dozen crew of loyal buccaneers, who as the story goes are half-human and half-ghost for they have been cursed to remain in that amorphous stated by the wicket witch herself!    

Response to Laura: Words

Laura, thanks for posting on my entry Potpourri , I am glad that you liked what I wrote and I also know that it takes courage to post something for the first time. Sometimes I receive accolades from people who read my stuff but only a few leave a record for others to read. 
I like to read, but not only poetry… I even enjoy “reading” a finished sudoku puzzle and gratify myself with the accomplishment!  
In Spanish for instance, I like the work from my Peruvian compatriot Cesar Vallejos, and all the verses of the great master Neruda (the Chilean Olympian of words) – who now rejoices among the elites of the Olympus and sits at the same table with Zeus together with Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe and other classics of the English language.…Yes, I enjoy reading but likewise I also indulge in eating, sleeping, or walking a dog if one is available!
A lot of people tell me that I should do this or that and some have venture telling me that I should write for a living . Wow! I have even thought of joining poetry circles on the various places I have lived; to hang out with those who may think of themselves as being more equal than the rest. But I prefer the anonymity of the internet, of mingling with the masses, plebeians, drunken poets, bohemian or anyone who loves words and uses them to express feelings or thoughts.  Blogging gives you that advantage: anyone from anywhere and from all walks of life can read your writings and you can read theirs and share thoughts (with kings and paupers just the same!) 
I don’t like pseudo-intellectuals, persons who can recite, quote and name the writing of many simply to impress others and like them much less if they have the audacity to “price tag” your work. – pompous they conduct themselves as if they possessed some divine authority to judge. Emphatically, I am suspicious of these “virtuosos” with giant memories filled with the words of others but who cannot produce meaning of their own creation.  
You may wish to enlighten your spirit by reading from the “literary giants”; or you may even want to emulate their style by virtue of their intrinsic beauty.  Yes, I agree with anyone who endorses that reading from the great writers is incredibly rewarding.
But it is not a prerequisite to “educate” your intellect with the words of others to be able to write from within - your own suffice to to connect with your soul.  The creative process of how words take meaning and how they capture the essence of thought it is an intimate experience.  In that regard, words that explain your feelings and connect to your soul are innate to the creator (the poet) and nobody else.  
I like to say that when I am inspired, I enter into a "zone", a space where words float around my mind, then I filter them through my heart, choose them like picking cherries, and then compose for meaning.
Impostors who insensitively spew Chaucer and Joyce as to show a metric of their worth, are most certainly obtuse and deprived from understanding the true value words; particularly from the words written by the superb minds that composed the original versions they think to master – understanding comes with sensitivity, the ability to connect with meaning that flow through your senses and not from data-bank of extraneous knowledge.   
To illustrate my point, imagine a 5 year old girl tenderly holding a chick who has just hatched, stretching her arms and hands - with a smile and her eyes filled with discovery utters the word “yellow” … she has just composed her first one word poem at the age of 5.  
Now, a few seconds later she calls your attention again, and as she brings the chick close to her chest, she recites her poem for the second time and says “yellow”.  She has just concluded her act by adding meaning and sublime value to her creation, and perhaps bringing some tears in your eyes.  
I recommend you read what a Paulo Lopez who wrote on his blog about the subject.

Thanks for your visit, and come again. Cesar

Potpourri

Here is a potpourri of sketches in Spanish and English

Aqui les paso un potpourri de bosquejos en Ingles y Español

Pendulum (ying-yang)

Going:

Hallucinating drank from bitter rum

Cursed the fate that came his way…

Exhausted slammed his cabin door

To be alone detached from all

Yearned to rot away till gone.

He drilled holes to sink his ship

But threw a bottle-note to sea

That to port he will not reach

To think him dead and be forgotten.

Returning:

Why sink you heart so full of treasures,

You wish to go and shun your worth

Sinking there having reached nowhere

Without a fight you die in vain

Brave all your chances you are alive

Sober up and plug those holes

Float your boat and set your sails

For this journey you will not fail

The middle:

If you don’t come I will mourn you dead

Come my arms wait, but …go don’t stay

And no silly notes to announce you’re there.

Oracion al cristal al vino y la vela:

Tomo una copa de vino, mis ojos se pierden mirando tras cristal una vela que salpica colores – 

Visiones de siesta despierta… deseo que en el mundo de los días contados; que un simple soplo la vela llueva estrellas cadentes; que no falten pedidos ni se pierdan los sueños al olvido, ni tampoco resten ilusiones sin visiones.

Para pedirle al cielo mejores ficciones, deseo… que con viento que apaga una vela cansada, todo lo malo se fuera… y cuando me reencuentre a mi alma no se halle cansada.

If

I have nothing but my humble words to offer and pirate soul full of treasures meant for you as a measure of my breath. I beg you please take my words in their true worth tonight; for if tomorrow never comes, all the past uttered ones and now will echo in the skies for the stars to keep forever. And when you reminisce on a pirate’s flag or any sign of a one-eyed dreamer soul forgone, hope you evoke my image with the assurance that my life is infinitely real.

A taste of you

As I take this breath from you

Energized from warmth we seek to embrace

From ages left apart now held so tight

Touched our lips on this first time

A taste of you that came to life

Enchanting fragrance of surrender

Embraced in love before the stars

Spreads your warmth in million parts

Twirling petals drift our scents

A taste of you that came to life

For time took long our breaths apart

Distanced hearts far longed so much

This day to reunite what feels so right

Set us free our breaths entwine

A taste of you that came to life

Witness heavens and the Above

A love so deep the birds did cry

Locked hearts as breath entwine

Blessed with life that comes to us

A taste of you that is my life

Gota de fuego:

Cruza una gota de fuego suspensa en el aire

Luz que alumbra su marcha a lo largo

Fluye al impulso del viento que sopla p’alante

De esos movidos por sueños, de ardor por vivir

Surca una línea encendida que se hace distante

Se esfuma llevando su aliento, y envuelta un su fuego

Rastros de luz y esperanza, … puntito de alma… se va

Luciérnaga