Miriam's Iris, or Angels in the Garden
Poetry by Maja Trochimczyk

Paperback First Edition: ISBN 978-0-578-00166-1
Preview on Google Books: Miriam Preview.
Hardcover with Color Photos: ISBN 978-0-9819693-2-9
EBook (PDF) from lulu.com: ISBN 978-0-9819693-2-9

"Rarely does one find a book of poetry which holds together as well as Miriam's Iris. Although presented as a collection of individual poems, it reads like it was composed as a whole, as a single poem of multiple parts. . . Miriam's Iris is a strong demonstration of how poetry can evoke emotion without getting bogged down in the details of one's affairs. Along the way it provides some wisdom about finding one's place, accepting what one is given." (G. Murray Thomas in Poetix.net, Feburary 2010)



Selected Poems from

Miriam's Iris, or Angels in the Garden

By Maja Trochimczyk


(C) 2007-2009 by Maja Trochimczyk, Los Angeles


The Iris

Why did you want to look
into Miriam's iris?
Why did you want to catch her gaze
that silently unfolds
the petals of conceit,
self-pity, and bewilderment,
revealing bluest sorrow,
soft heart of gold?

Love is awakened lightly
sleeping it waits to be:
daily enchantment

Swirls of transfigured glory
dancing a fragrant dream:
four million circles



In Passing 1

The bougainvillea looked at me slyly
from the myriad of her butterfly eyes

Roses sang with rich voices
of their crimson petals

A symphony unfolded to fade

My white birch was afraid
of this southern opulence

Its leaves trembled in the hot wind
far from the pale whisper of home


Amor - The Angel of Romance

Amor 2


You looked at me
and I saw myself
for the first time

I'm beautiful!
I've heard this
many times before
but did not quite believe

In your hands
love filled every
square inch of my skin

I glow with a brightness
that even your absence
cannot dim


In Passing 2

I saw another miracle today -
the jacaranda tree was in full bloom,
a purple cloud descended
or was it periwinkle?

No wonder I don't want to leave L.A.
where gardens look at the sky
with turquoise eyes of their pools,
where hills wear white scarves
of fog in the morning, where
the weight of sunshine wears me down
as I go about my daily business
of loving the world better


Eros - The Angel of Desire

Eros 1

my dreams are simple -
I just want you

today, tomorrow,
in my bed, at my table,

talking on your cell phone,
putting on your socks,

all wet from the shower,
bewildered by the steady
glow of my love,

touched so deeply
that it hurts -

you - just one man
of wicked charm,
strength, wisdom


Eros 6

we are the walnut
of perennial wisdom

locked together
(two halves in one)
we share one breath
of blessed air

delighted,
we peel the minutes
off the ancient clock

In Passing 3

At dusk -
The waves of black clouds
rise on the horizon, ominous
like Medusa's hair

Red sun is trapped,
suspended in the snares,
useless like a hat of a dead man

It shines through the shadows,
illuminating the scorched land below
before sinking into ashes

At dawn -

The river of light
flows down the slope
towards dark contours
of pines and ash trees

A milky mist rises
above the sleeping valley
with an untold promise of
life without cruelty and pain

Eloe - The Angel of Grief

Eloe 1

kiss me with the kiss of death
so my lips stop breathing

kiss me with the kiss of Lete
so its waters wash away
my dark memories

kiss me, so I could go in peace
to the empty fields of Elysium
for a well deserved stroll in the park
of the late graceful


Eloe 6

grief is a thief
and a stupid one at that

he stole your life
when God was not looking

(too busy -
concocting colors
to paint the canyons, stars,
dabbling in sunsets)

In Passing 4

I grow roses in the desert
They wither in merciless sun

Their petals, scorched by the heat,
crumble into dust
from which they came

The magic of water and light
brings them back.
Open blossoms smile at me
shyly

One after one after one
they come to make love
with the air

They shrivel to stay unchanged
clinging to life
that left them


Thanatos - The Angel of Death

Thanatos 2

broken pieces of fish bones
lie scattered by the tide
where sandpipers feed

hermit crabs move into empty shells
whose former inmates
lost their future, devoured

The ocean of death surrounds us
ants troop in and out of the eye
of the beetle that lies
in the middle of my path

crushed sea shells paint the beach
bone-white - prickly sand
slowly changes into rock

the fossils capture cruel snapshots
of transient past

unperturbed, we march on,
treading on traces of old tragedies

insects die first, yet outlive us
we do not mind their deaths

with a gaze fixed above,
we ignore countless incidents
of random murders, as we walk into
the gaping mouth of the Behemoth

Thanatos 6

pain trickles down
the solid rock of my sorrow
until there is nothing
left to hurt - a void
before another outpouring

tears don't wash away
the dust of sadness

they come and go
like summer rains -
not refreshing
in the stale heat
of despair


Ellenai - The Angel of Peace


Ellenai 6

with the noise
of unfurling wings
silence descended

turmoil within
my frightened self
dissolved
into the glass surface
of tranquil seas
at sunset

angels account for
moments such as these

love's cruel sweetness

my days are numbered

I'm caught again

emptied
of thought and sorrow

poured
into the last vessel
of midnight calm

In Passing 7

I am my own kingdom,
alone:
my garden's secret
you'll know
if you care to visit

we'll dance a sarabande
on wet grass
framed by blue larkspur
and morning glory


Sophia - The Angel of Wisdom

Sophia 4

oh, to float into blue distance
a dream of weightlessness,
knowledge of nothing but the air
in the lungs, air carrying the limbs
from cloud to cloud into being,
into tranquility, into peace

all made of water, we live
in the Cloud of Unknowing
we breathe a shroud
surrounding the mystical
peaks of the Ancient One
that will not be known
nor understood fully

we have to, we must fly
higher, we must grow wings,
strain in childish hope
that we'll find brilliance
hidden beyond the bluest
blue of infinity, of time

Sophia 6

and now bless
and now
the whole, the all,
cosmos, chaos,
gleaming, living waters,
exploding spheres,
black skies filled with fire

and now bless -
blessed be the Holy,
the One beyond being,
above, below, after, breathing

now bless -
mine, ours, yours, love,
pearl strings of peace,
joy, heartbeat of stillness,
jewels of transfigured touch,
petals unfurling
into wings of glory

now blessed



Poetry written in 2005-2008
Published by Moonrise Press, Los Angeles.
www.moonrisepress.com
P.O. Box 4288, Sunland, California 91041-4288.

Distributed by amazon.com, lulu.com and other booksellers.
Order Paperback from Amazon $12.40 (First Edition):
ISBN 978-0-578-00166-1
Preview on Google Books: Miriam Preview.
Order Hardcover with Color Photos from Lulu.com (2nd ed., $48, 126 pp.):
ISBN 978-0-9819693-2-9
Order EBook (PDF) from lulu.com, $10: ISBN 978-0-9819693-2-9


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