I am Rosa Clement, a wife, a mother of two girls, a computer programmer, and what I most like to be: a poet. I’m also a Brazilian who lived in Hawaii for the last five years and now has returned home. In Hawaii, I started writing poems, something I always thought of doing since I was a child, but always felt too shy to put my ideas on paper. However, one day while thinking about aging, I felt a strong impulse to write my first poem and since then I haven’t stopped.
My ideas come from observations I gather from daily life, from feelings, and from things that really touch me. Often, I include nature in my poems.
Some of my poems have been published in Poetic Eloquence, The Ebbing Tide, Seaoats, and The Parnassus Literary Journal. Three of my poems have appeared on the web pages: The Open Scroll and The Blender of Love.
Here are a few of my poems:
A GOOD TALK
A man decides it’s time to hunt,
to find a fur because it’s cold,
to risk and patiently confront
the trails along which hours unfold.
At dawn he finds a hidden cave
and thinks that if he wants to be
a hunter still alive and brave,
then he should hide behind a tree.
A hungry bear soon passes by,
and quickly understands it should
protect its fur, and also try
to find a way to get some food.
Before the nervous shootings start,
the wily bear explains and pleads,
they both should talk and be smart,
and find a way to solve their needs.
The man agrees and trusts the bear,
and happily they hug and walk
inside the cave to get the share
of what was decided in their talk.
PEERS
I like to walk defiant and nude,
To be admired along my way,
But I may hurt, also be rude,
If I choose painful words to say.
I wander with the human race,
convincing them to look at me,
To see how pretty is my face,
Although I don’t like fantasy.
I have an enemy, I know,
who wears a sparkling frail disguise
to trace my steps and hide my glow,
deluding those who are not wise.
If my rival is insincere,
And on me humans must rely,
in life we are a constant pair:
I am the truth, and it, the lie.
THE DENTISTS
The dentists like to see us twice a year.
They tell you “open wide your mouth, don’t fear,
relax, and tell me how you are my dear.”
Your mouth then holds their tools, your eyes a tear.
They ask the things they do not care to hear
since whatever you say is never clear.
They tell you “the pain will soon disappear,
and then you can smile from ear to ear.”
You leave their office faster than a spear.
FAIRY TALES
How sweet it was to hear the tales
my mother told us every night,
how lovely were their details.
Outside, the songs of nightingales,
inside, the flaming candlelight…
how sweet it was to hear those tales.
We flew beyond the ridges and vales
on words that carried full delight,
so lovely were their details.
The giant who lived along the dales,
The prince who never saw the light,
How sweet it was to hear those tales.
The headless mule from forest trails,
the dolphin man and his sad plight,
so frightening were their details.
While nights fell to their darkest veils,
it blended ecstasy and fright,
but sweet it was to hear those tales,
and lovely were their details.
PENNIES!
Pennies, pennies, come to me,
fall from pockets like the rain,
shine in spots where I can see.
Pennies, pennies come to me,
fill my vases rapidly,
flow like fountains from each drain.
Pennies, pennies, come to me,
fall from pockets like the rain.
WHEN YOU LEFT
The moon has already moved to your sky,
and the mountains have covered themselves
with an opaque brown mantle,
because you have left, and the rain
preferred to follow your steps.
The sea is still,
reflecting only grey clouds,
and here, I wait to see green or blue
in its waters and sing them in my verses.
The palms have lost their waving sound,
and now are silent, bending to the ground
because a long time ago, the wind left
to take you home.
What should we do, we who love you?
Knowing you won’t return,
we want to forget or ignore,
but instead,
we just love you more.
Rosa Clement