In the name…….
By Armando Ortiz
In the name of whom should we improve our communities when public schools are dismantled, and lay barren of hope?
In whose name do students get over tested to miss out on funds, and on an exploration of electives?
In whose name does the cutting of public school funds benefit the public, and support learning?
In whose name are educators forced to fight for what is right? To be able guide the youth and time for deep thinking.
In whose name is a child’s future put on the line and seen as a number and not a name, a result, not a journey?
In whose name does the serpent of privatization enter the house of impoverished communities, and tear up the one guaranteed right for every child?
In whose name do teachers strike, but for community, a decent future and healthy prospects.
In the name of equality and fairness is that we fight.
Despite immense odds, we stand up to fight against oligarchs, private entrepreneurs, corporate unknowns that never have seen the eyes of understanding or heard the anguish of student suffering.
In the name of justice, humanity, equality, the public good and freedom we strike.
Missed Call
By Armando Ortiz
Yeah, I looked you up
after you accidentally called me
using a different program.
You were probably thinking of someone
while traveling through Eastern Europe
but in your mind a lingering memory
had you lost in hateful similes of me.
The ancient wandering rats of Rome
had you thinking of a sleazy and grimy opossum,
the foreign dialects that you heard had you wondering,
how true words could be so deceptive
to a lonesome soul.
You wore a white fuzzy cap,
a light blue dress with white borders
that fluttered to the Autumn winds
hid your body from all elements
and you had that unknown smile.
My eyes saw a tribal queen,
holding strong against the jet streams of
the Northern Asian steppes,
just a nomadic princess
made strong and determined by life’s
experience.
You were more than a marble bust
carved by the hands of Rodin,
like a rare precious Afghan stone,
that turned into the eyes of Venus over
the moonlight waters of Los Angeles.
I’ve moved on and
won’t return that call
but it raised many more questions
than it did answers at all.
I want to return to that accidental connection
and tell you about my situation,
you cannot to be my obsession, but
I’d walk with you in bazaars
along alleys and streets
and make memories anew.
But all you are is a reminder
of the time you said to leave
when you sent that message
where you turned the page
with our chapter closing,
making me disappear.
I have to remember that you are a digital copy
no longer here, but there, somewhere in LA,
a figment of the imagination
a morning frost in the middle of autumn
that disappears into the air by the time
I ring the bell to do my job with simple care.
Believe me though
I’d still eat you up
in one green light
digging deep
and striking gold.
Morning Light
By Armando Ortiz
You became the dream unfulfilled,
a drifting mist from the coast
that dissipates into the summer heat,
after I shared with you my secrets.
You were the calming white roar of the Pacific
when we slept by each other’s side.
We were not meant to walk together
along the beach, holding hands.
I didn’t roll up my jeans- knee high,
nor did your clothes get wet.
We didn’t get splashed by ocean foam
or feel ourselves sink into the sand
following the egret that walked ahead.
We just held hands
during a late summer day
and under a yellow maple tree
is where we kissed the first time.
We pressed against each other
giving comfort to ourselves,
while the sun set
west of the Verdugo Mountains.
I held you tight,
you bit my shoulder,
we didn’t declare our love,
but rode the waves of passion.
Like running water,
flowing into a precipice,
our wills were caught up
in the rush of desire.
You allowed me to taste
the saltiness of your skin
and to nibble the left earlobe,
our bodies flowed into disaster.
A magnetic water fall
we floated in mid air
falling into an abyss
of unknown experience.
You accused me of selfishness
after I told you my forgotten truths.
With you, I grew, and became
conscious of my foolishness.
You might have loved me once,
but your warmth is with me forever,
I harness that memory with these words
hoping that we both remember.
What I did was unforgivable
and only once did I try to apologize,
not daring to try again
instead, I meditated on that dying ember.
Later I was crushed by remorse
and questioned my sanity,
forgiveness from you is unattainable,
nor is the love of the Virgin Mary.
I awake from this illusion,
you are forever gone,
lost in a collection of memories,
you regret and despise having met.
Walking back to my car that night
left me void of emotions and sight,
I drove through the darkness of night,
till the break of day gave a shimmer of light.
Although we are now apart
maybe this apology
one day finds
a place in your heart.
