Four Stunning Poems by Lilija Valis

 

THE STORY IS LONG 

 

It’s not over

when you leave

 

the story carries on

who knows for how long

maybe forever

 

the tale of my great

great grandmother

when she was seventeen

blue eyed, dark haired

and the invading army soldier

who stopped her execution

continues in my life

with some updated twists

on a shared journey

 

the story did not

begin with them

and won’t end

when I go

 

we are always in the middle

 

don’t know when it began

nor how it will end.

WORDLESS MELODY 

 

You’re not

who you think you are

and neither am

 

the words we are using

are hiding our secrets

 

the place we call home

is a temporary shelter

to reach tomorrow

 

the beliefs we’re ready

to die or kill for

came in a package

 

the leader we’re following

is not taking us where

we envision we’re going

 

I’m not saying

take off your mask –

in a world of disguises

naked is risky

 

I’m suggesting that

what is important

is a wordless melody

 

drifting past leafless trees

into our wounded hearts.

MYSTERIOUS MAPS 

 

a stranger among strangers,

all speaking different languages

 

even in families we pay for translators

having forgotten the language

words try to disguise

 

I look into your eyes

attempting to decode the signals

your energy sends to my skin

 

I want a report on internal affairs

 

I once heard a call for help

from someone I loved

who was slowly making his way

toward me through a forested

area miles away  

 

there were times I ignored

warning signs of what

was heading my way

preferring wishes of the way

life could be if only…

and almost lost my life

 

we draw mysterious maps

of hidden terrain –

one-way streets, dead-ends

highways and bridges

 

still, it’s easy, even map in hand

to get distracted by the music

of a language or a face

                     and lose our way

TOMORROW 

 

When you awaken tomorrow

winter will be gone

 

a warm sun will greet you

a blue jay answer your call

 

your mortgage will be paid

your heart arrhythmia disappear

 

mirrors will show the hidden face

-- always helpful to know

 

universities will ban cheating

and no longer sell degrees

 

doctors will stop using treatments

that ensure patients keep

coming back for more

 

politicians will return the money they stole

spiritual leaders living in palaces

will give away their wealth

 

all living creatures caged, drugged

and cut open for the benefit

of others will be freed

 

when you’re alone and sick

a kindly stranger will bring you food

and hold your hand

 

dance will turn enemies into partners

and music will replace arguments

 

yes, when you wake up tomorrow

the sun will hold hands with the moon.

Lilija Valis, author of Freedom on the Fault Line, has been published in literary and e-zine magazines and ten anthologies. She has read her work solo or with one or two musicians at various literary, musical, dance and political/philosophical events, in Vancouver and the United States. She has performed with a group at two Vancouver Fringe Festivals and, as one of the winners, at San Francisco’s Artist Embassy International Dancing Poetry Festival at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. She has two CDs out, one solo and one with two musicians.

Website: www.lilijavalis.com