To my sister,

I Stand on Water not on Land

I stand on water,

not on land.

Steps will not leave footprints 

Only small ripples riding on smooth surfaces.

Soleless feet guide my direction

I follow the ripples' path as 

I travel onward.

Boats rocking up and down 

in the water.

 Filled with dark shadows 

and faces I cannot see.

Many I passed, but 

None for me.

One amongst others, I see.

My eyes find.

The only one for me.

Covered in green algae 

and watery plants
of various kinds.
I stepped in 
and slowly sat
in this tiny boat of mine.
It swung me gently 
Back and forth.


Immersed in joy,
I hear laughter at a distance
Not far
Surrounding me
Louder it gets,
Deafening to my ears
as it fills the air.


On nearby boats,
Faces, I can clearly see
Of shadows
Lingering towards me
Malicious grins approach me.
Frozen, I sat.
My  eyes 
Looked at the muddy bottom 
Of my little boat.


There, I see
A glimmer of beauty.
I reached 
Hoping I would capture it.
As I opened my hand,
A small round pearl
Rests on my palm.
It glowed, illuminating 
the surrounding boats.
Shadows disappeared 
Laughter stopped.
And yet, the pearl 
Still shined.




                               M.Z 

Cherry Blossoms

Spring,

Announces your arrival

The sun,

Spreads ribbons of its love to your 

Sprouting leaves

The rain,

Fulfills your urgency to blossom

The wind,

Carries the small fragments of your beauty to 

The soft palms of my hands.

                                           M.Z

Rain

Raindrops falling from the sky

Will anyone hear your cry.

Through the rustle of leaves

Through the heavy wind

No one will hear

Not even the clouds above from which 

you descend.

We will only hear 

As you hit the hard cement

Of the empty roads 

Twisting and turning 

Where people disappear 

Out of your sight.

       

                          M.Z

Secrets


Many I will not tell
But some, I will let them flow from 
Doors opened by just a small crack.
Only if you give me a friend 
Called Trust.


                             M.Z

Me

I am a tiny snowflake falling slowly from a gray sky among others much larger than I. As I fall, I hear only the silence of a cold winter approaching. I see other snowflakes around me but they are nothing like me. We are distance apart. No wind to scatter us together. There is only gravity pulling us down in a straight line. I will soon be buried under thousands of other snowflakes following my path. My time is short and only consists of falling. But it is enough for me to see the world as it is. It may  be just a quick glance but this glance will be forever stained into my memory. It will live there until I melt and evaporate when the sun comes out from behind the clouds. I will once again be a tiny snowflake as I return to the sky above. When I fall slowly out of the sky again and I will see the world as I have never seen it before.

M.Z. 

Under the Willow Tree


I sat under the willow tree 

With its branches mingled in my hair.

Its roots wrapped around my feet.

My eyes were drifting wanderers aboard

the changing wind.

Slowly, they moved

Towards the nearby lake where 

they departed.

I saw water walking on the rough ridges of land.

The water recedes, 

leaving me behind.

My heart sank in its fragile boat 

Buried by the small subtleties of falling water

Never to resurface beyond its watery grave.

The dimness of light casts over my eyes.

As the shadows of my past becomes

The reflection of myself at the far distance.

I realize 
I am already dead. 

                               

                                                                                         M.Z

Scarlet Sunset

Distant

The sky painted in layers of colors

Like sedimentary rock.

The sun once burning yellow,

Dipped in a sea of

Red crimson.

Disappearing behind the horizon. 

Buried by the calmness of the sea.

Colors changing in the sky.

Waves of orange, pink and green,

Painted by soft strokes 

elegantly unpredictable.

Blue and violet.

Time brings the darkness of night

As it fills the sky, 

Reminiscence of the sun

Only remains a faint memory of the distant past.

                                                                   M.Z