Elizabeth Padillo Olesen Poems

Teacher, teacher, teacher, teach me now
...

Who draws the gap between people?
They call them rich, they call them poor
The rich squander in wealth and abundance
The poor wonder what to eat next time.
...

They can be written
spoken, whispered,
hidden, forbidden,
remembered,
...

How can a mother forget her child,
the child who is conceived nine months in the womb
the child that is cradled at daytime,
night time until dawn?
...

Who has seen the wind?
Not me, not you, not them
can see the wind even
those with eyes as big as balls.
...

A good life is a song
when melodies are sung
by laughters and smiles.
...

The sky, our blanket,
puts us to sleep,
drowns our eyes
with darkness
...

Tears in the valleys
water the lilies.
They are salty.
They are not so sweet to taste.
...

Filling waters in all sideways and byways
Leaking through all alleys and subways
Overflowing canals, rivers and bays
Overflowing streets, stations and houses
...

A humble and fragile man
with a great heart
...