searching space between children
as they run and play outside
eyes bright, laughter palpable
shorts and tops move with them
small feet seeming not
to touch the ground

memory senses a young girl
brown skinned with dark brown curls
touching her shoulders and face
as play becomes life
in the California sun

if I look close enough
i see her dimly in the space
between the children at play
waving her hand boldly
she beckons to me
to come home once again

© July 2015 Renee Espriu Photo Taken From Morgue File & Digitized

the day moves slowly
thick like humidity of the day
the quiet fairly undoes me
feeling strange in its’ presence
touching my muse lightly
like the faint tinkling
of a tiny bell

barely swelling to loudness
just there at my shoulder
touch, touch, touching me
softly…like a fairy
amused at my being undone

so it goes the day lingers
my muse listens with me
to music from the radio
calmly waiting for me to respond
as the quiet undoes me
creative crescendo gone

© July 2015
Renee Espriu

File Taken From Morgue File & Digitized

sitting at the picnic table
with all but her tiny terrier
water splashing quietly
against large boulders
holding up the bay wall

she notices but takes no notice
of people walking briskly
behind her up and down
waterfront of a weekend

blending as they do into scenery
large and small dogs on leashes
chattering of words unheard
bicycles with their riders
walkers ear phones on heads

a community of wearied others
looking for calm solace
or gathering of sameness
to make sense of everything

strolling an infant sleeping
divers commune together
some in wet suits…some not
a man heading to the pier
fishing pole in hand

a breeze touches her face
her focus on water fairly still
boats passing here, now gone
it is all in life’s fare

© July 2015
Renee Espriu

Image Taken From Morgue File and Digitized

a marine layer of air
hangs moist around her
the small terrier mix
walking quickly
past front yard gardens

wild pink roses silently
amassed are cascading
to drape a barren sidewalk
she steps around them
a picturesque moment

a patriotic bannered window
momentarily disrupts
her feet taking her past
beneath evergreen trees
a breeze gently blowing

symbols dot the landscape
the relevance of choices made
she quickly makes note
a part of her morning
as she passes moving on

© July 2015
Renee Espriu

Images Taken From Morgue File and Digitized

dust devils whirl
around her feet
in sharp contrast
to a yellow & green
parakeet

she carries a bird cage
precariously balanced
in her small hands
she’s walking
entranced

last day of school ends
she could not say no
to the gift of colored feathers
her teacher gave
to show her

writing script at age nine
is more than pencil & paper
but beauty in curving lines
can be seen in life
& is greater than

© July 2015
Renee Espriu

Image Taken From Morgue File and Digitized by Myself

what now……………
a warm winter has passed
a too hot summer is here
green grass a crisp yellow
heat rising off asphalt

a time removed long ago
a young girl tanned brown
playing beneath the sun
beaches of white sand
riding waves to the shore

feeling sand on her wet body
tasting sea salt on her tongue
long hair matted to her head
wind blowing & tossing waves
time stands still forever

light peers in through curtains
drawn tightly close against heat
a life observed in passing
stillness steps forth to greet me
what now………………

© June 2015
Renee Espriu

Image Taken From Morgue File and Digitized by Myself

she remembers the feel of wet laundry
hanging over her shoulder
in the heat of the sun
with a chair beneath her feet
she steadied herself
with clothespins in her teeth

life is like that with layered memories
linked with love, laughter and sadness
this one of a girl too short to reach
carefully pinning laundry
drying in the warmth of the sun

a time before dryers fluffed the clothes
the smell of outside left behind
but she remembers standing on the chair
watching the blue of sky
the green of the avocado tree next door
listening to the bird song everywhere

now it remains her memory
in a secret place all her own
the closeness of which makes her warm inside
knowing that all that is left
are the bittersweet remains
like kindled fire burning down

© June 2015

Renee Espriu

Image Taken From Morgue File And Digitized by Myself

walking along suburban sidewalks
past houses quietly watching
her dog hurrying along beside her
all pink harness and leash
atop her terrier mix coat of white

cars whizzing by to destinations
unknown and indifferent
to her much slower stride
asphalt showing depressions
tires of buses and trucks make

a color of rising heat resonates
bringing her thoughts back
to reflect upon the changing tide
of events unknown would come
changes taken with every step

trees line the school yard
each one’s bark curling and peeling
the dark color of cooked caramel
revealing the escape of new life
predicted by life’s season

© 2015 Renee Espriu
Image Taken From Morgue File and Digitized by Myself

Photo Taken From Morgue File

 

wings  becoming color with each passing day

in the way that my heart now is beating

rhythmic as bird song

notes expressive as they play

 

wings steadily beating in time to purples

passionate reds swirling

music trebles and base greens

exploding in jazzy rainbows

 

wings filled with dancing sun ray yellows

creating a pathway of light

surrounding the world in color

keeping time with the beat of my heart

 

© Renee Espriu 2015

not all memories are meant to be kept
to be cherished like the day you were born
the day you crawled, took first steps
not all memories are meant to be kept

 

many years later on a dark Spring night
a ride in an ambulance not remembered
emergency surgery as life held on
many years later on a dark Spring night

 

not all memories are meant to be kept
you held my hand the hours so long
I held back for the comfort it would give
not all memories are meant to be kept

© Renee Espriu

My children were at the hospital during this time and the memories I now have are what they conveyed to me, as did my partner. Thank you to Nathan, Adina and Noah (Misha and Kris were there in Spirit) for giving me the strength to hang on just long enough. Your support and encouragement mean everything.