Sun Kissed Days

Sun Kissed Days

Monday, December 28, 2015

Happy 15th Daniel!


It's hard to believe that our Daniel is fifteen years old. On one hand it seems like yesterday when I heard his first cry, looked into his eyes and kissed his forehead with immense gratitude and love. On the other hand it feels like fifteen years of joy, sleepless nights, reading, sharing, loving, all the building blocks of life with more happiness than we could have imagined. My little boy is a young man. A fifteen year old that knows what he wants and shows great passion in his quests . Happy Birthday Daniel, you are the light in my eyes, the laughter in my day. I wish you a life of discovery, wonder, love and inner peace. I wish you happiness and I love you to infinity and beyond.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Free


Carolina chickadee 
flew into the park
one brilliant morning.
The trees rejoiced,
their leaves swaying
to the autumn breeze.
I tasted a change coming
as my eyes softly
welcomed them 
with a smile.
I harbor memories
of long ago,
on a distant shore
of the caged small birds
chirping,
feasting passionately
from a sugar bowl
oblivious to their circumstance. 
The bartender said
they were love birds
and they mate for life.
He poured rum into a tall glass
while sand brushed my toes.
I laughed,
I remember my innocence.
Youth and it's delicious
and painful blunders,
a lifetime ago.
I sigh,
it's my lifetime ago,
my wonder,
my thirst for life and love
that awakened my resolve.
My rebellion
my transformation from a girl into a woman,
a woman that would become a mother,
that loved fiercely. 
A woman that believed in dreams
and starting over.
A woman that wanted to touch
the sky
like a free bird.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Paris Where Poetry Lives



The light in my heart is
overshadowed by sadness.
Darkness threatens in
a distance 
but I want to believe.
I want to believe 
that souls are tuned
to angels as they sing.
I search for words
through the rubble 
of the day,
the lack arises from
the pain that sears.
Light and darkness,
the spaces of life,
empty moments,
pregnant moments.
Evil trampled on the 
garden of existence 
and vaporized hopes and dreams.
The knife blunt,
the sword sharp,
the cries to the heavens
echoing through the universe,
while bad seeds blind and deaf
to the sounds
of humanity.
I want to believe
in the sacred
in the pure
in the grace of the
poetry that lives 
in these streets.
I want to believe 
I want to touch the light,
and hear the angels sing.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

A Queen


We bought brown suede boots
durable and rugged.
We bought the boots 
to wear them to the field 
when we ran with our dog.
She was a puppy then
running with joyful abandon
chasing shadows
and her tail.
I lost myself in her gaze,
she laid glued to me
leaving no room for anyone else.
She was graceful as if
she knew that she was
a queen in another life,
and I was her servant. 
He misses her,
and he misses the young
girl I used to be. 



Join us at http://dversepoets.com/ where we share our thoughts and our hearts.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Gone

When I am gone,
 I want to dwell in your dreams
like a fluttering butterfly
on your skin.
Kiss your eyelids as you sleep
and embrace you with my wings.
when I am gone I will dance with you
through all the continents,
we will
 hopscotch through the stars
as we climb into
 each others arms.
When I am gone
I'll leave my scent on your pillow
while the violins play
and you drink poems for breakfast
in a tall cup
knowing you were loved.


Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Life



It's always been difficult for me to leave myself open and vulnerable even though in my poetry I do, in my daily life it's not always easy to do. The last few weeks were filled with questions and uncertainties. I was tackling some health issues that are still unresolved. A good friend texted me the other day to ask how I was doing. I answered optimistic and with gratitude for the improvement that I have experienced so far. Later I reflected and I realized how hard it is for me to accept that all this worry and fear has left me depressed. I have not had patience to write, to read, to visit my friends on their blogs. I try to assure everyone around me that I am fine because I don't want to burden them. As a mother, wife, friend, I have always tried to comfort everyone. I think I have to accept the way I feel and allow them to comfort me. 

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Fear


Fear whispered in my ears,
like a mosquito feasting on my skin.
It whispered doubts,
 it challenged me into a battle
on the field of life.
I left fear on the sidelines of youth,
and it found me in mid life.
It entered like a burglar
on a dark night,
awakened me in my sleep
and shined a bright light 
in my eyes.
It stood over me
as my heart raced.
Fear climbed the fence
of my garden
and planted seeds
while my back was turned,
like a needle piercing my subconscious.
Fear touched my wounds,
injured my being.
It whispered,
it whispered,
then it roared.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Heart



You know my heart,
the hallways and corridors.
You walked through touching
the walls,
touching my lust and melancholy,
my addiction and joy.
You know my heart,
how it beats to your touch,
how it dances around your moon.
You have heard the thunder
of my heart,
the rivers of my veins pulsating
as you swam through them,
floating lost in the shadows,
familiar with the fears.
You know my heart,
it beats to your touch,
it climbs to meet you,
it holds you close.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

The angels watched



The church bells rang,
chords were played.
On your lips
 confession 
and redemption.
Fine nectar must be tasted
and savored.
The angels watched me
even though I rebelled
and traveled roads less desired.
There was truth in chains
that held me down,
excavating my spirit,
making it soar high.
There was you,
you loved me well,
the way I desired.
You learned my secrets
and took possession of my soul.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Humanity II



I wrote a poem
and betrayed my soul
for today I feel dark and alone.
The news saturating our beings,
 drowning us
with sorrow.
The ancient temple destroyed, 
migrants fleeing to Hungary,
children hungry and lost.
Senseless killings,
manhunts and lives coming undone.
My heart aches,
I am ankle deep in the sewer of life. 
Philosophy and love are not the answer,
heroin on the streets is not the answer,
frankly I don't know what is.

 

Humanity



Poets write verses about summer
days ending,
fleeting and whimsical.
I am ankle deep with sorrow
and worry.
Humanity is consumed in darkness
and despair,
let the watchman ring the bells,
turn the lights
and bring hope back into our hearts.
Cultivate kindness,
erase hatred,
cultivate tolerance 
annihilate prejudice. 
Restore humanity with love
and let it spread
with understanding and grace.  



This poem is written for http://dversepoets.com/ where we writing about the watchman. Personally I was having coffee this morning with my husband and I was expressing how sad I feel when I watch the news and  see the condition humanity is in. There is so much that is tragic and senseless and it leaves me feeling despair.
 

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Leonard Cohen


His words are the soundtrack
of the morning,
like a flower opening to light and sun.
Like the wind touching my face,
and my old wounds.
Like the ivy growing on the wall,
like a lover crawling on my skin.
The bird of Paradise plant
is exceptionally brilliant today,
as if his words warmed her too.
Inspired,
I smile with answers to ancient questions,
to finding my way home
following the bread crumbs that he left behind.
My spirituality never questioned
nor displayed,
only my heart shinning like a beacon.
 



I found Leonard Cohen too late in my life, he is my new obsession. His thoughts resonate with me, his wisdom draws me in. He is an icon and a genius. 

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Halfway



When the end comes
it's not announced by trumpets,
nor by red carpet to welcome it.
When the end comes,
it's manifested in deaf ears,
and in sharp words that sting.
Smooth verses
are stored away like
ornaments after Christmas.
Silence gnaws like
acid on metal,
the exterior still shinny and gleaming.
Green fields turn brown
from drought.
Halfway roads are less traveled,
the cold hangs in the air,
even though the sun is shinning.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Five Year Blog Anniversary






I fell into life's embrace,
decay crawling on my skin,
naked to be seen.
Utopia,
a place? a destination?
my soul scarred,
shattered pieces
healed by love.
My vessel fragile,
yet my spirit like a great oak tree.
How do I matter?
What is this journey
called life?
The past and the present,
side by side,
tied like a ship with a lifeboat.
Where I have been,
what I have done,
is written on my soul.
What is life, if not
for the love that I breathe,
for the love I have nurtured
for my boys.
Every breath they took,
gave me the will to be better,
to survive,
to evolve.
Love is the greatest gift,
it blooms in my heart,
it flows through my veins,
it saturates my being.


 Five years ago today I began posting on my blog, a sun kissed life. It was a difficult time, I had lost both my parents and I felt wounded, tired, and vulnerable. A desire was sparked to write again and to stand with an open heart and share it. The desire was mixed with fear of leaving myself naked to be seen. My pain expressed for strangers to see, but I took a leap. At first the posts remained empty of comments, and it was okay because after all I was writing to find happiness within. As time went by my blog blossomed, other bloggers that I respected came by to read which made me happy and grateful. I was welcomed to a wonderful community of bloggers,poets,authors and journalists. We bleed on our pages and we share our souls. My blog brought me back to the writing I had left behind. It has made me examine ordinary and extraordinary moments of my life. To all my friends I want to say thank you for embracing me with love and acceptance. I am blessed to have you all in my life!


Thursday, June 18, 2015

Summer kissed days





Summer kissed days,
did I dream of this moment
when you were born. 
Pride swells within
for your accomplishments 
and your journey.
It is no longer the
days and years that I embroidered 
With delicate threads of love and knowledge
It is your hard work and vision.
I held you in my arms
and sang you lullabies 
I read you books of wars and peace
of cultures foreign 
and told you that we were all one,
connected. 
You were wide eyed
with an open heart and imagination 
with purpose and intention.
You grew into a man
that others admire
and I my dearest
can only sigh
and be thankful that you call me mom. 

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

A June Morning


The owls await
peeking from their burrow
greeting the day.
I capture a snapshot
as they exit and lounge
on green grass
knowing that it's different
than yesterday's.
They are not modeling new fur,
or wearing a hat,
nor a new disposition,
but something is changed
even if I can't pinpoint to what it is.
I watch with joy every time
we meet.
" Good morning", I utter,
they look back silently.
Some days they shy away
and hide.
Sometimes they meet my gaze,
their brave souls shinning
through bright eyes
but I 
as they
know that they are different today.




Join us at http://dversepoets.com/

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

A day in the ocean



 Beauty is around me,
underneath the blue sky,
I hold my breath when I
encounter a flying fish.
How glorious he must feel
to leap in the ocean,
and glide in flight over it.
I taste salt on my lips,
how sweet to feel one
with the vastness,
with the glory of it.
The waves awaken us,
it begins with the breath,
this journey of a thousand heartbreaks
and triumphs. 
Life dangles on a thin thread
we weave,
and we come undone.
Miraculous visions,
while the storms appear on the horizon.
It begins with the breath
and ends there.




Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Grace in the moments


I savor small bites of happiness,
leaving some for other days.
Days unfolding with grace,
there are those moments undefined
simple,
the kind that flow through my hands
like running water.
Those are the moments
I remember at 4 o'clock  
in the morning 
when I can't sleep
and you embrace me
in your half sleep
our bodies forming a crescent moon.
The days sometimes escape me,
hours playing hide and seek
but the moments
leave me dazzled and spent.
Glorious they stand on their own
two feet.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Armenian Genocide -100 Years



Coal black sky,
awakens repressed memories.
Whispers of angels silenced.
You are not forgotten,
the moon watched 
while humanity looked away,
one hundred years of denial.
Grandpa,
I stood beside you as a boy,
and as a man I carry you in my heart.
Your kind but dark eyes,
pieced my consciousness with
stories of your plight,
living in a cave,
marching in the desert,
eating weeds and plants.
You were a baby boy orphaned,
grief held your hand.
You were too young to remember
your mother's love
your mother's embrace.
The emptiness,
and the sadness lingered.
The oppressors sought to destroy,
they sought deportation,
humiliation,
death.
The oppressors wished
to erase you
and our bloodline.
One hundred years of denial,
echo like whispers,
reverberate from the earth
of those that perished.
You survived
to flourish
you survived 
to tell your story
the darkness always in the shadows
 of each day.
Grandpa,
I remember.
Grandpa,
your words are not forgotten,
I retell my children of those dark days,
of their legacy,
of survival rich with
honor of your life.
Grandpa,
I stood beside you as a child,
as a man I carry you in my heart.





This is dedicated to my husband and his grandpa, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. This is dedicated to all the grandchildren and children of the survivors. We must never forget the atrocities committed.



Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The beauty that is life



The leaf bathes
in the morning light,
floating with grace and beauty.
The geese
welcomed new life today.
The trees whispered 
of spring as I walked by.
At dawn I listened
to him breathing.
The moment magnified
by it's simplicity,
by the truth
of the beauty that life is.
He is the one
the dog followed home,
he kept him and made him his own,
protected and loved him
to the end.
He is the son that held his mother
as she shook with chemo
and life.
He is the one
that delights in a screeching reel
and the cat that follows him to the lake.
He is the one that feeds the squirrels
and thinks to buy a cup of joe
for the crossing guard.
He is the one with fire
in his veins.
He is the one that holds me
when the day is dark
and I feel empty.
He looks into my eyes
and sees my soul.
He is the one.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

My beloved and the wind


The light penetrated through the clouds,
I watched fireflies entangled in a dance.
The blue Jay jeered attempting
to distract me
and the hawks.
The wind silently
caressed my face.
If tomorrow does not come
and I don't lay in your arms once again
or roll in the sand,
drink the moon on an evening of poetry
and love
lights twinkling in our eyes.
If tomorrow does not come,
and I don't touch the dew on the grass 
at daybreak,
or I may not touch the edges of a book
cutting my skin and soul
as I linger and kiss your neck,
if tomorrow does not come
I would have had enough
because you had loved me.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Forgiveness and The Long Way Home


I had a red shinny tricycle,
but never a bicycle.
I dreamt of riding free,
in a yellow lemon dress,
flying down the hill
with the wind caressing my hair.
Dad feared I would fall
and I would hurt myself.
So I didn't fly until years later,
when I ran away,
no longer accepting to be sheltered
from the storms of life.
I left with a plane ticket,
the clothes on my back,
and a dream in my eyes.
My purse stuffed with family photographs
that I treasured,
memories of what I was leaving behind.
No money
or plans,
the man sitting next to me spoke
about pre Colombian  art,
puzzled, he watched the stars in my eyes.
My life was waiting,
forbidden love,
youth, brilliant and reckless.
Seduced by a freedom fighter,
not knowing he worshiped methadone,
hidden away in the refrigerator.
When John Lennon was shot
I still believed in the change that never came.
I battled his demons
and lost.
Broken dreams and promises.
I woke up one day and walked
away with my soul battered
but not defeated.
I walked away 
and opened new doors
and dreamt new dreams
fire in my soul
the wind on my back.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Refuge


I bow to the trees,
the birds are my choir.
I find refuge in silent fields,
immunity unspoken,
wounds barely healed,
redemption afforded.
I have forgiven you,
but not myself.
"Not possible" you exclaim,
the ache is throbbing,
the mind is searching,
answers are far and few.
Don't ask me if I want to live,
ask me if I choose to die.

So excited that http://dversepoets.com/ is featuring http://dannygregorysblog.com/. The photo above is his illustration. I recently found him through my friend and talented poet and artist Claudia at https://jaywalkingthemoon.wordpress.com/ . I love his work !

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Waiting to grow up

The sidewalk had traces of pink and yellow chalk,
sounds echoed of hopscotch played yesterday.
My footsteps heavy,
sadness in my heart
locked away.
I thought about the war,
sirens in the night,
a ladybug crawling on my arm.
There was a boy in school,
with big brown eyes,
his locks curled gently.
He never saw me,
he was three years older.
I knew love would come one day,
exquisite,
heartbreaking,
glorious love.
We left home
my brothers grown,
they attempted to shield me
from scraped knees,
broken bones and reality.
They could not see 
how sad my smile was,
how deep my thoughts.
We crossed the ocean 
and planted our lives
like roots of a tree into a 
new society.
I was mesmerized at the pace,
macaroni and cheese in
a blue and yellow Kraft box,
television loud with color and life.
There were egg shaped tape players,
and boats bobbing in the bay.
The sound of the waves in the ocean
lulled me to sleep.
I was dreaming
waiting to grow up.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Happy 29

Dearest Josh,
I normally write you a poem that celebrates you and this moment in your life. Today I am writing a post
celebrating milestones and a son that has made my soul swell with love. The first time I saw you there was no doubt that you were everything that was good and right in my life. I wanted to make your world perfect but it wasn't. Whatever struggles that came our way I was there to battle them and I was there to protect you from the storms. We spent days reading, playing, conversing. You were a sweet baby, alert and eager. You were a curious toddler. You loved history and science. When you won the fire prevention poster in Kindergarten you felt especially proud because we took it to a professional frame shop to have it matted and framed. You were filled with wonder and our favorite time was every evening reading books, great books that we would discuss and laugh about. You played soccer and baseball and I sat on the bleachers cheering you on. In high school you volunteered at the hospital that you were born at. That first day you called me and you told me that there was a code blue and someone had died and that you wanted to be a doctor to help people. I told you as I often did ,that I support you and you should do what you are passionate about. You have trained hard through the last few years becoming a wonderful doctor and a humanitarian.When you read this you will roll your eyes because it comes naturally to you to be this kind and generous man. I am proud of you, I always have been and I always will be. I love you for always and forever.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Beloved


If I forget you,
let death carry me on her shoulders.
If I forget you 
the walls of my heart
would be empty,
the sounds of my soul 
would be silent.
If I forget you
there is no reason to live,
you are the heartbeat,
you are the flame of my soul.



Sunday, January 11, 2015

Wondrous





I dove into the ocean
to catch a glimpse
of a sea turtle.
I saw him for a moment,
majestic,
grand,
and my heart fluttered.
I saw pods of dolphins
in the wild, 
leaping,
frolicking like children in 
the playground
and my heart sang.
I saw wondrous things
without a compass to lead the way
nor a plan.
My guide was my curiosity
and the willingness to fail.