Painting by Vincent Bakkun

I extracted heavens from my wrists
a long time ago.
The stars were red and my vulnerability had
been sharpened softly.
It was a memorable day when
I found out my blood type and the extremes
of my heart.

Poetry's benevolence helped me to stitch away pain,
sewing my soul on my body.

I survived life.

The space between the end and the beginning is a particle,
an atom of love and gratitude.

Here I stand. Here we all stand.

Let our essence perfume the universe one more time.

Karla Bardanza

Copyright©Karla Bardanza 2012

As I lie where your shadow

watches my deserted heart,

the jealous sky flows toward me,

blessing my divine desire,

enchanting me with those unapparent clouds

you painted when love

was the verb that caught fire.

Lost in my endless days,

I enter life again, uncertain of all,

dreaming and being destroyed

by the storms of July

as I see my withered flowers blooming

just for my eyes while sorrow does fall.

Love is beauty itself that lives,

it is a miracle I can't escape.

I am immaculate now

and something in my blood owns

the universe.

Here neither reason can be conceived

nor knowledge can explain why

I read the roses while I listen to

my heart's delight.

Here eternity holds the night.

I go by the windy street,

pushing back time, touching your soul

with my soft fingers, thinking about

what lies beyond you and me

as your presence crosses across my brain,

stealing my heart away, filling my empty body

with love and delicate air.

Here wolves and eagles sigh on my serene canvas.

Here stars and stones whisper

for love needs no words.

Karla Bardanza

Copyright©Karla Bardanza 2011

So there you were laughing,
eating, drinking, enjoying yourself
with your next victim in my favourite
restaurant. You were so happy, weren't you?

Frozen clouds covered my eyes.The hands of
the past were breaking my bones again,
strangling me with rage and care.
Something bled fast inside.

Couldn't breathe, speak,
Couldn't stand up or feel anything:
your eyes met mine. The abyss swallowed
the morning. Shivering i was, terrorized i was.

The walls dissolved, the sun was numb:paralysis.
A voice said 'be strong...be strong'. i couldn't.
i can't. i was swept into Hell once more
as i searched for myself, my soul.

Salome, dance now: i want his head
in a charger and his blood in a crystal glass
cup as i eat his heart to gain the courage i know
i will never have again to be the woman i was




Karla Bardanza

Copyright©Karla Bardanza 2011