Poetry by Merielle Santiago, cleaner at Freska

Something that was said during yesterday's town hall meeting has left me inspired. During a segment the topic of pursuing our dreams was brought up. How easy it is to silence that voice.

I've always yearned to be a published poet. I've been writing for 15 years and found the literary world is more guarded than Fort Knox. After some rejection and lots of walking in circles that voice fell silent. I stopped performing spoken word and focused on working.

It is as if yesterday the red light turned green and I snapped awake. While still maintaining my role within the Freska community, today I will give my dream a breath of life by submitting my work to at least one publishing house a month and seeking out open mic nights in Stockholm. I'll be leaving one of my pieces here for you to enjoy.

Karaya -
Luna
Måne
Moon

My youngest cub sees her
Love at first sight
Her gaze unable to focus anywhere else
A fixation arises

"Moon," I say
"Moon," she repeats

Then in my cub comes a spark
The curiousity, the wonder
"What is this light in the sky?"
Our cosmic sister
With us, beside us
Since the dawn of creation
Since the start of time
Countless have soaked in the mystery

So romantic
The thought that every being
Who has lived on Earth
Gifted with sight has seen her
How many sets of eyes
Have fallen for her before I?
Before my cub?

Magnificent by her magnitude
How ever could one question
The femininity of her nature?
Who else could birth the
Hundreds of thousands of millions of
Dreams spanned out across lifetimes?
Reaching from the beginning
Lasting until we are back to dust
She'll remain
The reason my words
Find themselves endlessly
Encircling her light
I return to the question


Let us howl

Luna
Måne
Moon

/Marielle Santiago