imagine ~
if the obese worm
of bigotry
could be contained
in a chrysalis
there
forced to change
or starving die
might emerge
life’s
liberated
butterfly
~
Words and Photography ©2018 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse.
Bookmark the permalink.
They swim
poor little fish
straight through the safety nets
that would hold them
in fresh water’s flow
they are too young to vote
or weave social change
into protective boundaries
They swim
through gaping holes of greed
lacking resource and means
to bind the shredded holes of ignorance
They swim
swept downstream
to river’s brackish estuary
where
the salt
through osmosis
dehydrates cells
They swim
assimilating the filth
prostitution
drug abuse
theft
abuse
bulging, murderous eyes
desperate
They swim
until
defeated
oxygen depleted
poor little fish
belly up
They float
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse. Bookmark the permalink.
what does a ban say
on a sunny Easter Day
THAT
starving children,
the moaning human refuse
collected
for posterity
in refugee wastelands
must starve
WHILE
sheltered youth,
plump and spoiled
dressed in pressed watercolors
not junk yard soiled
are allowed free run
on a White House lawn
to hunt for candy-filled eggs
what does a ban say
on a sunny Easter Day
THAT
this year
the Easter Bunny voted
rolled his eggs for Trump
WHILE
children, impoverished,
hunted meals
from the dump
what does a ban say
on a sunny Easter Day
WHAT?
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse. Bookmark the permalink.
If
If it
If it were
If it were your
If it were your children’s bellies grumbling
of course you would feed them
knead stone into bread
until your fingers bled trying
can you squeeze water from clay?
filter impurities away?
with your skin?
steal shelter from garbage bins?
build scrap-tin walls with a cardboard roof
until it rains
filling puddles with the rust
of poverty’s chains
to what land would you flee?
if bombs showered your home?
all order violently destabilized
carry your children on your back
so you might keep their dead bodies from dying
for another day or two
how much time can you purchase?
when you can’t even buy food?
If it were your children’s bellies grumbling
If it were your
If it were
If it
If
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse. Bookmark the permalink.
(Selection taken from A Haiku for Ricky Baker, on sale now. All proceeds go to fund art and writing programs for children in juvenile detention centers.)
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Entry posted in film & poetry. Bookmark the permalink.
black garbage bag tote ~
carries all life’s possessions ~
piled on refuse child
~
(Selection taken from A Haiku for Ricky Baker, on sale now. All proceeds go to fund art and writing programs for children in juvenile detention centers.)
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Entry posted in haiku & poetry. Bookmark the permalink.
plastic feet formed to fit polymer heels
lofty heights
false ideals
dance in girls’ minds
to fairy-tale tunes
flawlessly complected marketing tools
young thoughts make creative formations
of too tiny waists
and bone-thin limbs
manifested years later
in anorexic meals
and bulimic fits
to fit
lovely lies
melted years earlier in colorful molds
hardened in impressionable minds
for uniform standards
unreal
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse. Bookmark the permalink.
silk from bud blossomed ~
unfolds Mother’s great yearning ~
all children so clothed
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in haiku & poetry. Bookark the permalink.
an oily gold rush ~
flows out from the frack-raped earth ~
Mother’s black-inked tears
~
boys rush the Bakken ~
covet all precious treasure ~
shatter the girls’ gems
~
when Females are raped ~
shouldn’t all be shocked and wonder ~
what through pipeline flows?
~
#noDAPL
(Rape and sexual assault against women and girls have skyrocketed in the communities surrounding the Bakken Oil Fields since fracking began, increasing by some estimates more than 160%. These crimes have disproportionately impacted Indigenous females who live on the area’s reservation.)
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in haiku & poetry. Bookmark the permalink.
roots of child neglect ~
contort Ricky Baker’s feet ~
strong hands cut safe paths.
(selection from A Haiku for Ricky Baker)
~
A Haiku for Ricky Baker, a book of poetry inspired by the 2016 Taika Waititi film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and my experience of the positive influence of selections of my work on the life of one girl transitioning out of detention and into foster care is now available in eBook. ALL PROCEEDS, including 70% of each eBook sale, go to fund art projects for children in juvenile detention centers. Please consider purchasing the book and reviewing it on Amazon. Every sale of A Haiku for Ricky Baker helps to put paintbrushes and pens into the hands of at-risk youth in the hope that they will find creative paths for healing and growth. For more information or to sign up for newsletter updates, visit my page at Haiku for Ricky.
Words and photography©2017 Tanya Cliff
Posted in haiku & poetry. Bookmark the permalink.
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