Two poems by Maja Trochimczyk

Two poems
by Maja Trochimczyk

A Monument of Time

submerged in the sand of time
a continent from beyond
sinks in the last sunset

shadows move briskly
soon a gentle coat of oblivion
will cover the ridges

the desert sleeps
devouring life

clocks stop

the rocks are on fire
boiling over
into the evening sky

sand rises slowly
the mountains drown
in silence

====================

Memento Vitae

Let’s talk about dying
The gasp of last breath.
The end - or maybe not,
We don’t know.

Let’s talk about the last day.
What would you do
If you knew?
Whom would you love?
Would you find your dearest,
Most mysterious love?
Or would you just stay
In the circle of your own?
Would you rob, steal
Or insult anyone?
Would you cry?
Burn your papers?
If the fabric of your future
Shrank to one day,
Or maybe an hour?

Let’s talk about
living, then.
The next breath,
That will take you
To the next minute,
The next heartbeat.

Just about – now.

Author bio:

Dr. Maja Trochimczyk is a poet, music historian, and non-profit director born in Poland, educated in Canada, and living in California (www.trochimczyk.net). Her two books of poetry are illustrated with her own photographs (Rose Always and Miriam’s Iris, Moonrise Press, 2008). She is the featured poet in Quill & Parachment no. 100 (2009) and artist in residence in Poeticdiversity (August 2009). Her poetry appeared, or is forthcoming, in: Magnapoets, poeticdiversity, Phantom Seed, Sage Trail, San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly, anthologies Southland Poets of the Fantastic, Poetry and Cookies, and 12 Poets on Site chapbooks. She also published three books of music studies (After Chopin: Essays in Polish Music, USC: 2000; The Music of Louis Andriessen, Routledge: 2002, and Polish Dance in California, Columbia University Press: 2007), as well as hundreds of peer-reviewed and popular articles, essays, entries, CD liner notes, and interviews on music and culture. Her anthology Chopin in Poetry: A Tribute in Verse with over 100 poems with Polish translations will be unveiled at the Chopin Congress in 2010.