THE POETRY OF CHARLES ALBANO

NIGHT CHANT AT AKUMAL

Leave the boredom of the bar, Put the tourists out of sight, Here beneath a chosen star, Trust in me to set things right. Where the ocean spends its might, Playing music through the night, Let the warm sea crown your flight In its coral-lustered white. Come, don't let the world intrude, Share the sweetest interlude; Every sparkling wave that breaks, Immunizes all mistakes. On this beach in God's own sight, Love alone can conquer night, And loving me is all it takes, And loving me is all it takes. Come to me, Be with me, Dream with me-- I am your sea. Charles Albano, 1998 * Akumal- A coastal tourist site in Yucatan. __________________________________

BIRTHMARKS

Moments of realization that blink somewhere in the tangled fibers of the mind-- these are the birthmarks of insight. How many have you experienced over the past year? How many can you recall ever having? How did they come upon you? Did they dawn like degrees of sunrise, in barely perceptible, ticklish hints, or did they race forward and spring, like panther-thoughts? Did they fade with time, or are they indelible? Are they a source of embarassment, or do they inspire pride? The best minds are as riddled with birthmarks as the freckled face of a child, and bear connective highways as evident as the lines on the aged faces of those who have lived fully. Charles Albano, 1998 __________________________________

BITTERSWEET

A long marriage takes a toll. It kicks the props out from under illusions. It de-humanizes in all the wrong places. It plunders uniqueness and invades the ego's hiding places with sweet contempt. Then too, it brings a warmth that comforts body and soul, making for reassurance, and at least a tolerable identity. Charles Albano, 1998 __________________________________

CRICKETS

Crickets, call the meteors to earth; call them for me. Make them flash across the heavens so the sky is special again. You were there in the summer showers of my youth-- you did it then, didn't you? Work that magic for me now, I need it. Charles Albano, 1998 __________________________________

THE CREATING

In process, always in process, can't keep its hands off itself; always creating the creation-- silently, softly, gently, explosively, violently-- always and ever, creating. Filling niches willy nilly, reaching out, joining, assembling, transforming-- always able to make the next move-- problem solver par excellence. Life creating life and the conditions for life to create unceasingly-- wealth compounding interest in an open account. Charles Albano, 1998 __________________________________ BACK 1