The Mango Tree

The mango tree did victoriously sprout
When I could barely move about
In my mother’s arms was I a chuckling babe
From the mango tree as a child I blissfully ate
And when its limbs grew tall and sleek
We used to play beneath it- hide and seek!
And whenever we would have guests
My father would serve mangos he liked best
And when the bowels of a hurricane did arrive
That stormy whirlwind did the mango tree survive!
And when I was married at age twenty
They adorned its branches with streamers aplenty
And when my children were all born
The mango tree and its mangos did they adore
And now I am ancient, content on my porch seat
Rocking alongside that nurturing mango tree.

One World

Yes, he can feed his children- that is true,
All he needs to sacrifice is an organ or two.
Yes, she can buy meds for her sick brother
Just as she sells all she inherited from her mother.
Yes, he can learn to write and certainly to read,
In the dirt, in the alley, beside the chicken feed
Yes, she can dream up lots of untold dreams
Beneath the stars on the floor on which she sleeps
Yes, he can get access to shelter and water
Just as soon as he finds his missing daughter.

Yes, she can help others who are in dire need
She can take the initiative, she can take the lead
Yes, he can donate his energy, money and time
He can start just by collecting pennies and dimes
Yes, she can feel their worry, their every pain
She can no longer find a reason to complain
Yes, he can write a comforting note, just a letter
Just to let them know that times will be better
Yes, she can teach her loved ones life values
She can construct a future with a brighter view.

Grandpa’s Laughter

When that rolling thunder laughter occupies the room,
It fills up our house and chases away the gloom,
It brightens up the sky and shakes the very earth,
No one that comes to visit is left without mirth,
It lights a sanguine candle on every inside-
And keeps us nice and jovial with every tide of life
It carries an emblem of wisdom, like the roar of the sea,
That soothes us with comfort and familiarity.
It echoes a past which we have long since forgotten-
Walks of life- that were once quite often trodden
It holds a token of assurance that we are young and naive,
That one day we may laugh like thunder too,
Once again returned to simplicity.

The Lighthouse

I've walked so many paths,
And lost my way at length-
Only to find a compass,
That lent me plenty strength
I've ventured into outer space,
And have been consumed by the stars-
But then again I'd find my rope,
That'd pull me back from Mars
 I've journeyed the seven seas,
And have got tossed and turned ruthlessly-
Yet once again, as always, Once more,
There was a tranquil lighthouse,
Guiding me to shore.

For I am Pearl
A Persona Poem Based on “The Scarlet Letter”
2nd Place at Broward County Literary Fair

Let the silver moonlight kiss the ocean waves,
And let the ocean water toss and dance with its warm embrace,
For I am free, a fleeting blue bird-
Only to be glimpsed and never to be heard.

Let the indigo sky echo with my past, and the horizon just beyond, my future,
For within my mother’s hug I am safe and with only her touch is my winged-heart captured.

Let the sun pour down in spotlights filtering through the trees,
And let the flowers of growth live forever happily besides me,
For I am an elf child of song and joy-
I am the very maiden that led to the downfall of Troy!

Let honesty and life sit hand in hand-
Like adjoining lovers come from far off lands,
For I am time’s carefully hinted little clue,
That indeed to tell the bitter truth is best for you.

So let not the minister keep his hand over his solemn sad heart,
And let it not be a reminder of why we stand apart,
For I am the scarlet letter, or the rose that bloomed out of it,
A dancing flame never to be ever unlit.

Let not one single face hold a frown or ever cry,
And let not the brook be so mellow and so dry,
For I am Pearl, here to lift dreary spirits old and new.
Yes, mother and father sit you here, as I run along and out of the darkness,
Gather that eternal sunshine for you.

Copyright 2010, Marya Syed
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