Returning a mi casita,
students glowing joy light,
family children holy fire,
old friends volcano
core and ash filling
the sacred Sixth
Sun, I was sad,
all alone, all one,
the word rose out
of me, womb to heart
to throat, a cry,
ALEGRIA, Yaqui rattle,
red rose, green leaves
painted, gourd handle,
I began to cry/sing,
"Alegria alegria alegria,"
rattle song, each
room, mi casita, up
the stairs, bedroom,
bath, more stairs, the
roof, "Alegria alegria
alegria," flocks of
white winged birds tipped
their wings, laughing, my
ancestors laughed/wept,
joined me, "Alegria alegria
alegria" esta vida of
sorrow joy sorrow joy,
let me swim oh swim
its vast glittering ocean,
let me dance each
step as though
for the first time,
let me kiss each
beloved face, the
first time, alegria,
let me remember
simple love of
children's tender fingers
around my neck, baby
scent crown chakra,
lover's sweat merging
mine, shy trusting
eyes meeting, each
friend a flower
dazzling eyes and
heart, to the lovers
who were first
friends pistil stamen,
the letting go of beloved
body, not the Spirit,
returning in dreams,
we know each other
not by names (although
I name you), not by
faces (although I
remember you), not
by scent, laughter, voice
(I remember, always will),
we know
each other
alegria
simple love
alegria...
Alma Luz Villanueva
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
January 2013...'13' the Mayan number
of magic, Sacred Self, Sacred Other...
**To Meliza Orantes, who danced on
table tops in Paris, her dazzling smile,
Spirit, always alive...
