benafim
benafim archive of published lines and poems on Linespedia.
"My Mate JesusOn a blue lined white sheet Of paper on which was written“Jesus is masculine OK.”Yes, I agree he used to jog Around Bethlehem and swam Daily in the towns only pool.At night he liked to go..."
"Caribbean Re-remembered.replicaOn the plateau of AlentejoThe sky is princely blue. In a dried up lake fish areGrey and stones are whiteAnd around its bank yellowStraw rustles in a zephyr,That ..."
"A Few ThoughtsWe only take a comedianserious when we laugh.Dust is us …Atomized.So think beforeYou mopBone rattling stupiditydestroying an infrastructure,in Afghanistan, that doesn’t exist.A superpowe..."
"A Loss is Forever Mine to Keep My older brother was a healthy looking fellow always ready to joke and play, when he lay dead on a slab in the morgue he looked like a third rate actor too tanned to b..."
"The WinglessWhen hate from hellstruck the twin towers,desperate people offwindows jumped, hands grasping trying to hold on to air.Up from the streetarose a cruel asphalt lake and wingless mandescend i..."
"Moonlight and Cat Songs.Last night the moon was fullJames, the cat and I sat on the roof he looked for micethat, lives under the tiles while I was spellbound bythe power of Luna’s light.Got up I did t..."
"Coming Home Ten years are a long time for a cottage to be empty once we’re a family of eight living here, then it was a cramped place, now that I was the only one left it is roomy enough for me...."
"Bon Voyage Tristesse Spring and fall walked hand in hand,Falls stomach sagged, sparse his hairAnd bitter sweet their romance.She clung to him with youth's fragileObsession and in her childlike the pai..."
"The Great Leader Bin LadenWhile smart bombs and rocketshit out training camp and blowtents to smithereens we sit in cavesand wait for it to end. A find way to spend taxpayers dollars someonequips, we ..."
"Winter in GenoaIn a street with few lamplightsshe was standing outside a barwaiting for a costumer. The night was intensely cold and in her eyes I could read the true innocence of the victimised. The ..."
"The Female Alcoholic She is skinny, thinness lines her face makes her look older than she is. Her green eyes dart about like a scared bird’s and her restless hands lit cigarettes which she hastily..."
"Hush. They Know Everything Those obscure men in identical black in the third basement of a tall office in Vermont, never see the far horizon; have phosphorous skin, live on a diet of coke and cheese b..."
"A Last Ruminant By the gate, on a pale field that used to feed six cows, a lone one stood looking mournful while the fall’s afternoon sky was cool, still bare, immensely beautiful, indifferent a..."
"A Family Reunion (Version Two)At the bus terminal a handsomeyoung man asked me the time.“Quarter past nine” I said. Lookedat him and saw that he struggled to remember” Have we met before?”he asked… “N..."
"October (In Algarve)Gossamer I broke walking downthe morning track, dew on thornybushes shone like Christmas trees.Pricked my finger touching one swore loudly and a rabbit stoppedcleaning its face, bu..."
"Jealousy When I loved her days were brightI adored her voice and sunny smile.Then the madness of her jealousy cast and evil shadow; hectoring, her voice and false her laughter Slowly the light of love..."
"The War The man stood under a carob tree looking through scented green leaves towards the road. After an hour or so a black dog with a white chest came running it suddenly stopped, looked around a..."
"Harvest. The morning was hot and humid a breeze dragged itself along a boiling asphalt road, tired of sifting through discarded junk, it tried to get lift by releasing lumps of damp air. A for..."
"Streams of Life.Dear God, make me my mind an oasis of tranquillity, but don't chime your great admiration for me from the bell tower when I walk back to my ship from 'Campo Alegre,' smelling of your s..."
"Winter of 1954 (Re-Remembered)The morning was still dark, but its sombreness Had abated somewhat by nightly snowfall He took his bike our of the shed and the cold fromIts handlebar went through his kn..."
"The Sporting Life I don’t really like fish, when angling for trout in the river, near our lodge, it’s the peaceful scenery and the colours of a rainbow trout just caught that I like. Mind colou..."
"November Walk (Algarve) It had been raining all night, quiet rain that caressed the roof tiles of my cottage. By mid morning it stopped and in early afternoon the ground was dry enough for a lon..."
"Winter Afternoon. A this good silence, outside a dog barks and the wind is amusing itself by making dead leaves dance. I look at my hands fingers thinner than years ago, excessive skin on the back..."
"When the winner Loses Here is a blanket and a parcel of food I’m so very sorry for the damaged my bombs have caused and I grief for the loss of your children who sleep forever under building de..."
"The Broken Capsule of Peace Light blue limpid sky a lamb’s fleece drifts slowly towards the sea, across a vast ocean where a plane fell down into a street, jet fuel burning hopes and dreams leavin..."
"Anxiety. I saw it, the evil shark of my dreams, A shadow in clear blue water Waiting just for me. In stark terror I stood still, waist deep, As the unavoidable came closer and Closer. For reason b..."
"Anxiety. I saw it, the evil shark of my dreams, A shadow in clear blue water Waiting just for me. In stark terror I stood still, waist deep, As the unavoidable came closer and Closer. For reason b..."
"The Meeting When I drove to the meeting the evening was dark, the hall badly lit, cold and chairs were creaky and hard. One by one they told how happy they were now that they were no longer in t..."
"The Ex. Nearly sixty she is, but still beautiful and ambitious, newly been promoted to private secretary at the finance director’s office. Invited her for lunch, we went to a place where she didn..."
"Getting Old I know more dead people now than live ones, they visit me in dreams and never get older. Like my five year old son who, clutching a Donald Duck plastic toy, asked me if he was going up..."
"The Abiding Business. A waited for you till I was tired of waiting, Then I waited some more. Until the clock on the wall, in the railway station, Struck twelve and the town was a waste bin. Whe..."
"The Bee (how the East was won) The honey be gives us sweetness it has got a poisonous sting in its tail that hurts but can also be used as medicine. City dwellers think that honey is made at a bo..."
"The Vanishing Act It was on a beautiful moonlit winter night when old Ernie in his lonesome cabin died. His dog howled its sorrow to the oblique moon which through a dusty window shone. For day..."
"Dona Anna My princess works at the local post office, I mail letters there, everyday, to people I don’t know just so I can see her smile andstamp my letters with a bang. 90 escudos, she says coups and..."
"Catch-22 When a state employs terror to combat terrorism, it loses the moral argument and begets future cruelty. Written November 25th, 2001 © on Nov 25 2001 07:54 AM PST 0 • 9"
"The Sole SurvivorThe little girl in the basementof a bombed out house, whispers a lullaby and asks God’s forgiveness for hitting her smaller brother. Voices,someone’s digging, a shaft of light and fri..."
"The Transience of Man In early morning, after rain,the slope- that had protectedthe village from the cold northerly wind- began moving.In vain I tried to rescue my computer but it melted dripped websi..."
"December SongWhen the evening breeze isin a good moon and wishesto play music it, uses sprigsoff my almond tree for its mandolin.The evergreen bush, by the crumbling wall, jangles its leaves and says:..."
"The Marriage. She sat on an iron bench, Amongst a coop of yew trees. A faceless man, by her side. Further down the valley, In a shallow river, I looked for shiny pebbles to give her. She smiled, ..."
"The Eternal Loser.In a sleazy part of Lisbon, near Campo de Cebola, I saw him, the small time crook; a dealer of drugs.A bald man in his late forties who tried to be smart in a shabby suit, but only s..."
"Conflicting ThoughtsIn the forest of the mind youwere left behind, panicked when slapped by low hangingbranches of trees of thoughts.…and the echo of agony whenblinding light of life began exploding i..."
"Haiku (clichés)I pity shy bluebells written about so oftennow a sad cliché-----------------------------Dandelions toohave become gloomy victimsof lyrical abuse.------------------------------Water lili..."
"Angels! Are They For Real?Are you an angel, I asked a nurse, in crisp uniform, waking up tied to a bed after suffering delirium tremens. She smiled this irritating smirk nuns wear when visiting th..."
"LoveMother hatedmy father,when he diedshe gota tom cathad it sterilizedcalled the poormog Carl.The cat gotfatand slept,as my fatherdid,on the couch. Written December 2nd, 2001 © on Dec 02 2001 06:57 ..."
"This Day...This Morning Morning broke shattered night into fragments of shadows. I opened shutters wide and life cascaded in, filled rooms with gladness and left no corners dark….This is your n..."
"The Unknown Artist Walking along a track that descends slightly, it also act as a stream in winters, I came to a vista I knew was an idyllic painting, olive, trees juicy green grass, poppies, sheep..."
"Sunday in Portimao. (Algarve) An empty can of lager, in a sudden gust of wind, fell off a wall and rolled along the pavement. Came to rest in the gutter along side a red lighter thrown away when..."
"The Weariness Uphill she slowly walked carrying plastic bags full of food stuff and beer. The middle-aged and tired housewife paused, looked up at the tall block of flats, she lived on the fou..."
"Grandmother’s Funeral. You died at an inopportune time, streets of coloured light and artificial snow on bright shop windows. Hastily interred, Christmas next day, barely time decorate the pl..."
"Persecution Complex My living room faces a large wall full of windows, people are spying on me, asking themselves:”Why does he live alone? Has his wife left him? Is he gay?” I want to draw the..."
"The Lonesome Party It had been a long night, full of empty bottles of wine. From the balcony I saw the sunrise, it painted the sky red blinding me, while sparrows chirped and pecked skin off my ..."
"An Algarvian Moment The olive grove tickled a low hanging sky till it cried and rendered enough for a lone sun ray to light up a glade that looked like a newly shampooed carpet. Walked across ..."
"Merry Christmas On this holly night I miss the children I never had. Between me and the silencer nothing to remember. Never shall a son fondly say: “As my dad always said…” Childless men walk in pa..."
"Christmas In Lisbon The best part of Lisboa is its benign neglect, blocks, of once posh, flats untouched by wars empty now, but full of silent history. Untold stories guarded by rusty padlocks, ..."
"Deceived She walked towards me across the shingled court yard and her angelic steps shifted not a single stone. Earthly her hips swayed a rose in her long black hair and in her hand a golden tumb..."
"The Christmas Party Outside the block of flats I could hear the mind numbing beat of drums and trumpets. Seven floors up and I was met by African hospitality, food drinks and warm embraces. Grapes..."
"…And It Was Yesteryear. In the morning breeze I can hear Your sweet voice softly calling my Name…and in clouds drifting Across heaven's ocean, I can see The contour of your lovely face. In the me..."
"The Sin. The sky was immense, limitless, off school on wooden clogs, I flew across a clover field till I was stopped by a mundane bird which appeared to have a broken wing. With a stone I killed ..."
"A New Year…2002. Across the plain of Alentejo a railway track snaked its way as far as eyes could see, merged with a blue haze yonder and it was New Year’s day; which began with clear sky and su..."