Linda K. Vasconcelos Joshua Tree, California

Linda had lived in Southern California most of her life where she was educated and works as a nurse. She has been writing since her early teens. She has won several awards for published works and has a book of poems published entitled "Between Laugher and Tears". She is currently working on a book that will be a collection of short stories entitled "The Tale Spinner". Linda says "I believe we are the caretakers of the Universe, whether it is our families or the environment. I try to let my writings reflect this responsibility that I deeply feel."

The Peregrine She mounts the heights, with golden wings And blends to patterns of blue and white. With vision clear, she observes The patchwork of both God and men. She cries out in the agony of her sorrows, but it reaches as a whisper below. The air is black The land is shroud in darkness The water burns of chemicals. Creation has swallowed up, All the creator gave. She soars upward, once again And then, with spirit broken, She falls.

The Jester The jester plays his game for all To make the people smile. Hiding behind the mask of mirth. Forgetting for a while. But when the show is over And he returns to his room again, The walls cry out their laughter, To his loneliness and pain. For when a man plays the fool, He laughs that none may see, The invisible scars upon the soul, That will not set him free. Binding him to a solitude, That fills his heart with fears. Blotting out all forms of joy, And leaving him nothing, but tears.

Vanishing Beauty The rainbow colors of sunlight Danced on his alabaster mane, As he galloped the painted desert In search of what he'd claim. The wind calls him, his brother, As the two spirits mold to one. Reliving days of freedom, As they ride beneath the sun. He searches for the others, Who once rode upon this plain. The numbers now depleted, Wild Mustangs were their fame. Few left to him, the stallion Continues on his way, To claim the herds of others Not like the former days. Too soon, the last of them will go As man claims all the lands. The wild and the beautiful must go, No more the mustang bands.

All poems Copyright © 1996 Linda K. Vasconcelos. All rights reserved.