Youth Fade 4-3-2013

Youth Fade

I am old and fading,

My petals wilt away.

My makeup looks

Like war paint,

It looks old

And stained.

But within me

Still is beauty.

Just look and 

You will see.

Not far behind is glory,

Wisdom there is too.

The years I've lived

They show.

Like a worn out

Well read book.

But one that 

Was well loved

Open up and take 

A look.

P. Contreras

A Tree 2-19-2013

A Tree


My arms are weaving heavenward,
My roots are planted firm.
My leaves are catching all the sun,
Within my roots are worms.


Come sit yourself upon a limb,
And rest a while here.
Breathe in all of nature,
And into magic peer.


I can be an Octopus,
You the buccaneer.
Riding waves and pillaging,
Until the shore you hear.


Now I 'm a regal castle,
Walls of mighty mortar.
Keeping you safe against the dragon,
Who is a fire snorter.


100 hundred feet into the sky,
Here the giant lives.
Save the golden goose,
And an egg she will then give.


I am more than just a tree,
Especially to a child.
Come and sit beneath my shade,
Remember youth..
And smile.

P. Contreras