Poets Convertible with crew Josephine, Maja with a basket of poems and flags, poet konrad Wilk as the driver, Artur Wilk and Pam Shea ("Betsy Ross") who gave out postcards, former poet laureate Alice Pero and current poet laureate kathleen Travers.
First I walked the route of Sunland-Tujunga's Independence Day parade, giving out 1000 poem postcards and 250 mini-flags (with two helpers) The postcards included two of my own poems, reproduced below and the first stanza of America the Beautiful, which should be American national anthem, but alas, is not...
THE COLOR GUARDAbove the hills' crooked spine, clouds dissolveinto the azure. Dark red rose lazily unfolds its petals.My “Mr. Lincoln” blossoms by the birch treewith the innocence of long-lost, Polish summers.White bark peaks from beneath green leaves.White oleander spills over white picket fence.The sapphire sky shines with the deepest blue of the iris.Its yellow heart matches sunshine's purest gold,bouncing off the brilliant sphere of the stamensin the bridal silk of white matilla poppies.My garden presents the colors at noondressed in the red, white and blue of the flag.At night, fireworks tear the indigo fabricinto light ribbons and multicolored sparks.Fireworks scatter into chaos of laughter -the children's delight - the Fourth of July!
(C) 2025 by Maja Trochimczyk
This is a new version of a poem that earlier included references to the wonderful piece by Chares Ives, The Fourth of July that contains the best musical image of fireworks in a music history... But almost nobody in America knows about Charles Ives, so I deleted this reference, alas...
When I gave out the other poem to one lady in the audience, she said she still had it on her fridge from last year, and I was happy to hear that, but it is time to write a new Independence Day poem...
INDEPENDENCE DAYRed is the color of rocks in the Grand CanyonWhite are the mountains, shining with snow.Bue are the waves of Pacific Ocean.Red, White and Blue - the colors of allRed is the Earth from which we comeWhite is the Air that fills our lungsBlue is the Water inside us, with StardustRed, White and Blue - connected in all.Red is pure love, deep in our heartsWhite is the brightness of our clear mindsBlue is serenity of well lived lives.Red, White and Blue - freedom for all.
(C) 2018 by Maja Trochimczyk
Maja, Alice Pero and Hilda Weiss, 20/7/25
I started from a challenge to action - a spot of sunlight moving across the hills I see from my window.
Outside my Window
A round spot of gold light appears
on the smooth slope of California hills
green in the spring, shadowed by rainclouds.
Suddenly, an epiphany of light
blossoms among thickening shadows,
dusk approaching soon, much too soon.
The shining circle stretches into an arrow,
points west, along the ridge. The arrow of light,
my arrow, tells me to go, do, act, lead and follow.
Be the light, bring the light. Enlighten.
Before I can even reach for pen and paper
to write down this command, this call to action,
it is gone. All is shadow now. Murky darkness.
Yet the memory of the cloud epiphany lingers,
etched onto my retina. This spot of light,
this arrow will always be with me—
Each morning, I will turn the circle of contemplation
into the arrow of action, the dawn star
into a comet, inexorably reaching its end.
Is it not the story of my life?
This spot of light on a mountain meadow
after one winter storm, before another?
I catch it, hold it, and keep it safe
among my treasures. Things not to be
discarded. Unforgettable thoughts.
Another pearl for my precious necklace
woven from brilliant moments—
jewels of a well-lived life.
(c) 2022 by Maja Trochimczyk, from Bright Skies. Selected Poems. Reprinted here
The next bunch featured poem reproduced here - and poems An Artichoke of a Poem, Mata Boska Zielna, The Infinity Room, Dragon Fruit Awareness... that appeared in Crystal Fire Poems of Joy and Wisdom and the California Quarterly.
Oh, the Art of Looking
Look ahead—
wave and wave and wave
dance in the moonlight
a silver path across the ocean
shimmering horizon
stark intensity
of the Pacific
Look up—
the Milky Way
What do you see?
The spine of the world?
Buttons made of stars?
Indigo cupola with diamonds?
wave after wave after wave
Look inside—
deep into my eyes
electric currents flow
in an arc of brightness
connecting us into One
the Oneness we forgot
Now, we are alive, we are
One—the clear azure
of windswept sky—
the ruby wine
beneath roots
of the earth
Look around—
wake up and see,
truly see where you are—
enveloped in a blanket
of time, carried
from now to now—
from wave to wave to wave
from Earth into Earth into One
(C) 2022 by Maja Trochimczyk, first published in California Quarterly 44 no. 4 .
In the second part of the reading, I focused on newer poems from 2024 and those published in the anthology Crystal Fire. Poems of Joy and Wisdom (2022). "Dragon Fruit Awareness" was already posted here, not long ago, in fact... "Grapes on a Vine" have also been reprinted on my blogs, so I'll not repost it here. But I found a forgotten poem in my notes, and here it is (from July 2024).
Summer Bee Buzz
The bees buzz in the pin, crepe myrtle tree.
The sound of my childhood.
I hear that enormous indent tree. I fee
those 21 stings in my head. The taste
of fragrant amber of buckwheat honey.
My garden is tranquil in the morning before
my neighbors get up. Only the golden orioles
make ratting noises with their harsh,
machine-like voices. Maybe they will settle here.
The intricate, sweet melodies of mockingbirds
are gone. They moved on after the row of old
oleanders was cut down. They used to bravely
fight with crows to protect their nests.
Unfurled white stripes on gray brown tails
Now the orioles shine like pure god
in sunlight. Such lovely plumage
Such hoarse rattles of their sounds --
Bizarre...
You cannot have everything.
You must choose.
The transient body or the timeless soul
Riches of appearance, or the deep truth of the heart.
"My kingdom is not of this world"
-- the teacher said.
Indeed.
(c) 2024 by Maja T.
The reading ended with "A Declaration" with its refrain, so suitable for this reading - "I am a sovereign citizen of the galaxy"...
Six days later, I was already in Albuquerque, NM, at the convention of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, where I represented California as the President of its State Poetry Society since 2019. It was the first time attending a meeting with 30 other State Societies' Presidents and I felt it was worth my time. These days, given I'm already past 64 (from the Beatles song), and fast approaching 68, I do what is "worth my time" and ignore things that are not... Seen from the air, the earth was covered with patterns of light and shadow, as are our lives...
Since it was my first time in Albuquerque, I decided to visit some scenic sites - and my first choice was the Turquoise Museum. I was so impressed that I wrote about turquoise and sent my poem to its Executive Director...
A Turquoise Story
~ after visiting the Turquoise Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
A rock. A white rock with a vein of blue.
An axe. A pickaxe. A shovel.
The bulging muscles of the miner,
covered in dust, stained with the earth.
Earth to earth. Dust to dust.
From earth, they dig out the vivid hues
of tranquil sea and summer sky.
They dig, they polish, they arrange
small pieces into sets. Here – a necklace,
there – a bracelet, belt buckle or brooch.
From chalk-white, to aqua, to ice-blue, to navy,
almost indigo – clear and smooth, or covered with
a spiderweb matrix of gold lines – fool’s gold,
mind you – or black, or white, or sienna.
No two pieces of turquoise are the same –
no two persons – unique and so different,
yet connected, with brilliant minds,
flexible bodies, compassionate hearts.
Like turquoise, we, too, are from the Earth.
We, too, carry the sky within.
(c) 2025 by Maja Trochimczyk
Back at the NFSPS Convention, by chance, I participated in a Slam Poetry style Haiku Death Match. Of 16 Participants, one was crowned the Death Match Champion. Three haiku were read in each round, where two poets were set against each other, replying with a haiku to haiku. Three-person pane judged the poems and picked the winner who got the best of three. At first, I only had two haiku ready - for I thought it was just a regular reading. But after the rues were announced I scrolled through my gmail messages and found old submissions to our Haiku Study Group Anthologies - and that was enough to find myself in semifinals, defeated by the champion Jerry Hardesty of Alabama. So much fun! Some of these mini poems appeared in the SCHSG anthologies in 2021, 2022 and 2024. One was just printed in the CQ v. 51 no. 2 (Summer 2025).
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First round haiku
Shapeshifting clouds shade
cement prison housing blocks -
longing for freedom
Roadrunner waits for me,a limp lizard in its beak -
Carpe Diem
In SCHSG Anthology "The Taste of Sunlight" (2022)
old linden tree
in her empty courtyard -
the scent of memories
Second round haiku
"let me go!"my kite tugs on its string -we dream of freedom
the flutter of wingsinterrupts my thoughts -a feather-light heart
Dead Sea Scrolls unfurlinsights for 3 millennia"you shall... you shall not..."
In California Quarterly, v. 51, no. 2 (Summer 2025)
Third round haikn
shadow and light -
yes and no chase each other
in circular motion
In San Diego Poetry Annual 2023-24
`high school latin classArs longa Vita Brevis -true beauty lingers
In SCHSG Anthology "The Taste of Sunlight" (2022)
one breath, one bite,one thought, one step at a time -the measure of life
16 contestants and the MC, NFSPS Convention, 26/7/2025
we doze off under
protection of cloud dragon -
or is it a rabbit?
Photos of nature and clouds by Maja T.
