The Canary Grass Testifies

My stem, vibrant emerald.
My head, heavy
with tiny white blooms.
Early Christians
may have brushed
against my predecessors.
Peter said flesh
is like me —
bound to wither.
The glory of man,
like my flowers,
destined to fall away.
Though I feed
livestock, birds,
I feel I am a sinner —
I poison some creatures,
am a plague upon crops.
An annual, I will die
at first frost.
But Christ’s promise
of eternal life
endures forever.

1 Peter 3:8: Love as brethren . . .

I want to do the right thing.
Sometimes I’m afraid.
Sometimes I’m selfish.
Sometimes I’m wrapped up in me, me, me.
But I’m called to do the right thing.
I reflect upon the crucifix —
Jesus overcame his fear,
suffered,
died for our sins.
His love,
brighter than countless suns.
My tenderness,
feeble flame.
I share my smile with passersby.
I donate to the soup kitchen.
I hold my tongue with loved ones.
I must do more, so much more,
to brighten my light —
— swallow my pride
to beg forgiveness,
— shed my suspicion
of the hateful,
reach out in friendship,
— give voice
to victims of injustice.
This Easter, I watch
the lilies bloom,
resolve renewed.

Jesus Leads Us Out Of Darkness

The deceased —
no breath, no heartbeat,
no chance of waking,
or walking, or seeing.
A final kiss on a cheek
quickly losing its bloom.
The grave, dank, bleak.
Prayers, flowers, tears.
Is this the end?
No.
Jesus offers believers
the only way out of this fate.
Light of the world,
He died and was resurrected
to triumph over the sin
keeping us from the Father.
Follow Jesus in His resplendence,
in His brilliance that blinded Paul,
in the glory of His victory over death,
and know everlasting life.

Sylvia Riojas Vaughn of Plano, Texas, is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. She has been selected as a Houston Poetry Fest Juried Poet three times.  She belongs to the Dallas Poets Community. Her work appears in Red River Review, Triadæ, HOUSEBOAT, Diálogo, Desde Hong Kong: Poets in conversation with Octavio Paz, Bearing the Mask: Southwestern Persona Poems (Dos Gatos Press, 2016), The Arachneed Journal, Highland Park Poetry’s The Muses’ Gallery, Dragon Poet Review, and anthologies and journals in the U.S. and abroad.  Her play, La Tamalada, was produced in Fort Worth.