Letters to the Moon....

Today is the 100 Thousand Poets for Change global event. The idea is for poets, writers, singers, composers, filmmakers, artists of all kind, to create a piece to bring about positive change in the world. This is my second year participating in this event. Here is last year’s submission: http://www.letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html#!http://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2013/09/tolerance.html This year I have chosen another topic that I have started to become passionate about-equal rights for all. I recently viewed the speech Emma Watson gave to the United Nations. You might recognize her from her role as "Hermione Granger" in the "Harry Potter" movies. Hers was an impassioned speech for rights for all, and advancing the rights of women. If you would like to view her inspiring speech, you can watch it here…. This speech was the start of a global initiative for change called the He for She campaign. Men all around the world are standing up ...

When people ask me what I am, I tell people that I am a writer. I prefer to say that I am a writer, rather than a poet or a translator or a publisher. I write poetry and prose and share it on this blog; I therefore I feel that the word “writer” encompasses what I do above all others. I tell people I am a writer, I get varied responses.   Quite often, I will get a series of follow up questions...   “What do you write?”  “I write poetry.”   “Does it rhyme?” I have yet to understand the belief that poems should rhyme. I have heard some say “well if it does not rhyme, it does not count as poetry.” Granted I write more prose than poetry; however I disagree with that belief. I prefer to write in a free style or form, with the writing flowing as my thoughts. To me, writing poems in rhyme is too strict a structure, too confining for my self-expression. Of course there are many examples of poems that rhyme from famous authors and poets in ve...

A month ago I took a week of vacation from work. I did not travel; instead I worked on projects around my house. One project I finally had the time for was sorting through papers in my home office. I had thousands of papers and documents to go through. It was a daunting task. I found I had many previous drafts of my book printed out, as well as old bank statements, financial papers and more. Among all of these papers I found two journals. I was curious as to what I would find when I opened them. Were the pages blank? Were they full of writings? I opened one of the journals. I thumbed through it and found all of its pages to be full-some pages had lists, some had thoughts which later morphed into poems. Other pages were filled with letters, drafts that  I wrote out first, to gather my thoughts, before writing the letter by hand. The second journal contained more of the same. I did not take the time to read every page; however I did stop and pause to read some of the lette...

I would like to tell you a story today, a story of two kittens. I have never divulged the names of my cats or their photos. But now I feel I need to. The reason should become clear. Here now is my story, “The Ballad of Jazz and Blues.” I am the type of person who has to have an animal in my home. My animal I prefer-the cat. Two years ago my feline companion Calypso went to heaven. It was a very hard time for me.  My cat Calypso http://www.esperanzahabla.blogspot.com/2012/07/one-more-star-in-skyuna-estrella-mas-en.html Yet, I knew I would get an animal again. I decided to get two kittens this time, so they would have one another as a playmate. I searched nearby shelters for weeks trying to find the perfect pets for me. There is an unspeakable bond that happens when you find the animal meant for you. Every kitten I saw in the shelters did not speak to me. I was very specific in my wants in kittens: they had to be female and I wanted them to be 8 w...

Monday evening I heard the news. I could not believe my eyes. My mind was a flurry of activity. I remember reading the words, “Rest in peace.” I then remember thinking: Rest in peace? What? What are they talking about? Robin Williams? THE Robin Williams? Wait, what?!?!?” I then did a search on the internet and read the news. There, on the screen,  I read the words: Robin Williams Dead at 63 . Over the minutes and hours my shock upon learning of his death turned to astonishment and then to grief. When I found out that Robin’s passing away was by his own hand, it made the news of his passing much more tragic. I read a news release by Robin’s widow, Susan Schneider…. "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken. On behalf of Robin's family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not...