I am not worried about my future days.  

You will probably point me out as reckless, defiant, 

by challenging what we cannot predict or guess.

The fact is that I learned a lot from the sadness

and disappointment I have had, really so many,

but not enough to overwhelm me.

I hope I still have many pleasures in my future,

like or better as I have had,

even if some of them are the ones that,

later, turn out to be deceptive and fleeting.

I have already learned the modus-operandi of the one

who has been the mentor of my destinies and my ways.

So, I have seasoned my life with the same passions,

thus believing he will not have much to change

and surprise me.

Let my future come soon, I do not fear and will embrace it

with the same faith of past days.

I will fight its frustrations and disagreements, which, by sure,

will appear again.

I will lie down with  new pleasures – flames and sweet loves

will spring up.

From time to time,, I will throw to the skies sound and honest a laughter,

and, a little incredulous, the Gods will know that, despite everything,

even if it is for just one,

the human legend is still going on down here.

This poem and all others at this blog, authored by Edilson Afonso Ferreira ©

I keep always inside a secret oak chest,

invisible, safe and inviolable,

all my prayers and hopes, loves and troubles,

triumphs and defeats, hugs, dismay and discomfort.

They are a mosaic of the days I have lived, witnesses

of laughter and affection, tears and sobs, which show

that I did not run away from life, having lived it honoring

the sacredness with which it was once conceived.

They will be the passport for my re-entry into the fellowship

to the one who sent us to this common arena of smuggles,

afflictions and despairs and, from time to time,

happiness, fearlessness, even a certain human pride.

Sometimes this chest becomes heavy and unbearable,

and I need to empty it, because other days and passions

are waiting to be cloistered.

Hidden from human eyes, I open it and its content is burned;

emanations are mingled with the clouds of heaven, and,  

like an old Pandora’s box, give rise to bonanzas, lulls,  

besides, occasionally, storms and thunders.

Luckily, to date, tornadoes and hurricanes have not appeared.

Published in Poetry Poetics Pleasure, vol 05, issue 1, Jan 04, 2021.

http://www.poetrypoeticspleasure.wordpress.com

Published in the printed issue spring 2021 of West Ward Quarterly

http://www.wwquarterly.com

This poem and all others at this blog, authored by Edilson Afonso Ferreira ©

Many times, in the day to day, we came across

surprising and unpredictable events,

that leave us breathless and speechless.

Some sad, unwanted and hurtful ones, 

which we cannot understand its origins or reasons,

carried out by family, friends, even by ourselves.                                                             

We must also remember those, likewise unexpected,

that had brought happiness, joy and well-being,      

which, without better judgment, we accounted

as if had been natural and fully deserved ones.  

Indeed, in the harvest we do every day,

we are used to abundance, sometimes to scarcity,  

healthy fruits alongside some sick ones.

We should always take into account

that have not been only we who have planted

what we are now reaping.   

It had been sowed by parents and grandparents,

also by everyone who preceded us. 

Really, it is the heritage we must honor,

interdependent as we are, in our common,

beloved, sometimes so suffering human race.

(Published in Poetry Poetics Pleasure, October 2021 issue)

http://www.poetrypoeticspleasureezine.wordpress.com

On “Daisy Chain on rue de Rivoli”, photo, 1978, by Robert Doisneau.

Human life is full of adventures,

from which, many times, we cannot deviate.

On the contrary, if we face them,

with body and spirit combined,

they bring us achievements, often rewards.

These children see this street crossing

as so great a feat and a boldness,

although it may be, perhaps, simple

and ordinary one school excursion.

With terrific insight the photographer

recorded this scene,

an example to be followed by us,

who became adults in this world.

May we hold hands, hearts too, to smooth

and relieve the burdens we carry all days!

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO9thVrLET5mh03GmF9-jfDwU1Ubc1Bh0N8qlYI

When, suddenly, I notice the largeness of the horizons,

and all beauty they unceasingly frame our world.

When, tender and dreamlike resting tonight,

I always see her face before asleep.

When I enjoy full air all the day long,

missing it when she approaches me.

Then, I think, this means I must be in love.

But with whom, I have no doubt that

nor to the walls should I reveal.

This poem and all others at this blog, authored by Edilson Afonso Ferreira ©