Last year around this time we were faced with El Nino. The weather has changed dramatically on the West Coast since that time, but El Nino is still coming. The child of the Great Spirit will make its' way, not to malls, but to our hearts. This piece is written as a small gift to all of you this holiday season....In remembrance of Ramadan, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and the coming of Jesus Christ...
May the Great Spirit be with you always.....

El Nino

amidst the glitz
and the glamour
an uncontrollable
fear grows

the latest propositions,
filled with hatred,
phobia,
and madness,
don't stack up,
to the child
a descendant of our
mysterious creator

a society,
highly technological,
innovating
communication
up to 21st century standards,
and yet,
still unable
to understand
the language
of el nino.

A people,
in panic,
stressing for time,
to shop,
to spend,
their ends
in America's
NEWest
church,
synagogue
and
mosque.
The 21st
Century Mall.

"Will the weather permit?
"Will the weather allow?"

For you, for me, for us,
to live
another day,
to shop, our soul away,
if only,
we could "charge" it.

The elder speaks,
of natural disasters,
but no one listens

and yet,
the child completely identifies

young and old,
children and elders
go unheard,
as their cries,
fall on deaf ears

the adults,
skeptical and annoyed,
continue
their verbal assault
on Mother Nature.

The elder smiles,
--y el nino
se pone a llorar --
and the child
begins to cry

no one seems to
hear the screams
of our mother,
and the cries
of the child,
so
el nino
has no choice
but to revolt.

Will we continue
faxing,
e-mailing
and memo-ing
our humanity
into oblivion?

When
will we begin
to listen to
the child?

Screams,
seeking
an earth to be healed,
a people to be fed,
masses to be freed

when will
we listen?

When?
When?

in hopes that everyday is a holy day


Written by: Cesar A. Cruz