Winter Writing Sanctuary 2.5, Taking a moment, Spark 10

Peace on Earth

Beneath this mask

my words are muffled.

I am careful not 

to lean in too

closely

to hear 

your voice. 

Even my father,

who has survived, 

miracles of miracles, 

I keep two arms-

lengths away 

from me at 

all times. 

How shall we celebrate

without embraces

this year? What

language do we use

to hold each 

other’s hearts 

close as we keep

ourselves apart?

This year of divisions

has made our bubbles

so smothering

and small. 

Wrapped around

four candles, 

one lit, my

family and I 

sing, “O, come,

o, come, 

Emmanuel.”

Elsewhere,

little candles

are also lit, small

lanterns emerging

from muddy

floodwaters

that no one 

else will 

see. 

Beneath these masks,

we continue

to breathe

our hushed 

breaths

so that

another

can be

spared. 

Justine C. Tajonera

Image by Adam Niescioruk of Unsplash

Masks

by Justine C. Tajonera

I envy my son,
he wears no masks
other than the ones
for Halloween.
He cries when he feels
like it,
belly laughs
to his heart's
content,
makes demands
like his life
depends on it
and hugs me
at random moments
for no reason
at all.
He has no time
to see things from
all points
of view
and he plays
all day
without caring
what other people
think.

(Oct. 29, 2009)

Image from howstuffworks.com

Other People

By Justine C. Tajonera

I walked into the mall
dressed to the nines
and spent ten minutes
worrying about
what other people
might think.

They are phantoms,
really,
from my imagination,
blank faces
painted with expresssions
of my own insecurities.


I, too, am another
person

to them.

Who knows how long
they worried
about dressing up
for me?

(Oct. 17, 2009)

Role

By Justine C. Tajonera

I try on the
life of another
human being,
a coat of feelings,
lenses with
another view.
I'm a shadow
of a face
but I look for
what could possibly
tie us together.
I find a voice
inside me that
talks about ordinary
things in an extraordinary
story.

The lines flow
from a shared life,
a meal of words
from me,
from another.

I take the mask
in  my hands.
I am not the mask
and yet this mask
has my voice.

A creature emerges
on the stage,
painting a life,
reaching out
in the dark.

(Oct. 15, 2009)