The Curse of California - Part 2

Here is the second part of my attempt at poetry. Sorry it took so long to post. Busy week.

One evening, with lust in his eyes,
Monestario called on Senor De le Vaga,
And demanded his daughter’s hand in marriage.
Here Senor De le Vaga had a problem,
If he said no, it would mean persecution;
If he said yes, his daughter would be miserable.
Before he could answer,
Monestario and his aide pushed by.
In the parlor, they encountered Senora De le Vaga.
The Alcalde demanded to see the senorita,
“In the living room,” answered the frightened Senora.
Monestario left his aide-de-camp to guard the door,
And entered the parlor with fire in his eyes.
There he found the senorita,
She sat on a couch.
A book lay open on her lap unread,
A dreamy look on her face.
He cleared his throat and broke into her reverie.
“I ask you for your hand in marriage,” said the mayor.
“What of my father?” demanded the girl.
“He has no say.”
“What?” cried the girl, rising.
“You will marry me.”
“No!”
Monestario grabbed the girl in a tight embrace,
And held her in a passionate kiss.
The sound of a sword being drawn broke the stillness.
Monestario spun.
El Zorro stood before him with Monestario’s own sword.
“You will apologize,” ordered the masked crusader.
“Never!”
A flash of silver and ripped tunic was the response.
“Do it or die.”
Monestario fell to his feet and groveled.
El Zorro threw the alcalde’s sword away,
Grasping man’s collar and belt,
He hurled him out into the parlor.
Drawing his pistol,
He order Monestario and his aide to depart,
Warning them never to return.
With a bow to the De le Vaga family,
El Zorro disappeared in the night.

El Zorro had found a gathering,
He gathered the caballero around himself,
He formed and army of honest men,
All wearing black.
But only he wore a white band on his hat,
To signal the purity of their cause.
All caballeros were inspired to overthrown,
Those corrupt men who had forced their way into office.
The day came when they were ousted.
El Zorro rode at their head.
They begged him to remove the mask,
So that they many know who led them.
Seeing no reason to refuse,
Or any need to further wear the mask,
El Zorro obeyed the people.
The mask fall away,
Revealing Diego de la Gras.
Everyone cried in surprise and joy.
Diego de la Gras took Rebecca’s hand in marriage,
The people have him alcalde and a legend.

The Curse of California - Part 1

The following is a wee bit long so, I'll only post half of it at a time. Please overlook the dismal lack of rhyme. I'll more comfortable writing prose than poetry, but I tried my best.

The chronicles of Spanish California,
Recount events that horrified some,
But gave others hope.
Ecclesiastical power had now been eclipsed,
By the Authority of Man.
Corruption replaced generosity;
God’s kindness was superceded by man’s cruelty.
Pueblos took the place of churches,
As areas of influence.
The evil Captain Monestario deposed,
The humble Senor de le Vaga,
And took his place as alcalde of Los Angeles.
Peons were enslaved by the army,
To mine for Monestario’s gold.
Taxes were doubled,
To satisfy Monestario and the King.
The reigning governor and his friends grew opulent.
This was the main villain;
The scene is set.

Into this rode an outlaw,
A savior to the poor,
To the rich he was a contender.
Dressed in jet-black and wielding a blade of silver,
This hero brought justice to poor California.
The scourge of cruelty was answered,
By the sting of the blade of justice,
And the whip of retribution.
Theft from the peons was rejoined,
By disruption of gold shipments.
Mistreatment of a caballero,
Merited the destruction of a gold mine.
No man was exempt from his judgment,
Even Monestario had tasted of the blade and the whip.
This man was el Diablo to the corrupt,
And el Zorro to the oppressed.
It was the latter he adopted,
He was a man of the people.
Thus has another performer been introduced,
The hero.

Among the new hierarchy was a monster,
This person outshone the alcalde with his cruelty,
Who out-Heroded Herod.
Diego de la Gras was his name.
It was impossible to call him a man,
For a man he was not.
His servants were treated as slaves,
His tenants broken.
It was he who deserved the title,
El Diablo.
He fell prey to the dark avenger more than anyone else.
He offered 10,000 pesos for the bandit.
The price on his head only emboldened el Zorro.
He replied in kind,
Offering 15,000 pesos for de la Gras.
Now we have the second villain.

The final actor in this drama,
Is the young Rebecca De le Vaga.
This senorita was kind and gentle.
Her father, the alcalde,
Had been deposed by Monestario.
This young maiden marveled,
At the exploits of the dashing young rouge,
El Zorro,
The man who, to recall,
The description of another like him,
“Had robbed the rich to feed the poor”.
Long and hard she dreamt,
Of this hero in ebony.
Dreamt of holding his love,
In her heart.
The final ingredient of this tale,
Has been introduced to you,
The heroine.

One Day Away

in the spirit of Valentine's Day- a short poem

When you yawn
I see capillaries
They bother me
Because I do not
Like blood it
Stains and doesn’t
Wash out ever.
When you yawn
You close your
Eyes and the
Wrinkles are more
Defined I do not
Like it because
It means we are
Getting old.
When you yawn
I think your lungs
Are tired and I
Cannot help but
Think about what
Would happen
If we all ran out
Of air someday.
When I am weary
I am overwhelmed
By sadness because
It means I am one
Day closer to life
Without you.
But then one
Day you were
Jogging up to me
And I saw your
Heart beating
Beneath your breast.
Oh life grant me
Reprive from sadness
Oh love gather me
Up and banish the
Fears. After all
You are mine.
This is why
I can smile.

Press On

Just some encouragement for these cold winter months of falling behind in homework,

Press on
Press on
Let not your heart be troubled
The rain, wind, sleet and snow,
The upward climb,
Are merely
Impossibilities

The futility
Of your efforts
Is not so obvious
If you smile and laugh

Press on
Press on
It makes for a grand show

The bass