This we know
deep down
in our bones and blood.
Even buried under our worst moments,
tucked into the corners
of our own lives,
we know it:
We are made for more
than work
and worry.
Poetry
Memories of School Picture Day(s) (A Poem)
“Smile,” they said,
and I did,
crooked.
“Your eyes are closed.”
Unsurprising.
“We’ll try again,” they offered,
which was kind
all things considered,
especially the line that day.
What can I say?
I’ve never been what they call
photogenic.
I’m good with it.
I hear a picture’s worth a thousand words,
and well,
pictures of me
will certainly
get you talking.
The Garden Path (A Poem)
There’s something magic,
isn’t there,
about a garden path in spring?
Always worth the following,
I think,
if only to see where it leads.
Or even just the slant of the light
along the way,
just right to make
the everyday
extraordinary,
and the ordinary
enchanting.
Blue Belle (A Poem)
Lady Blue,
now ring your bell
through forest, field, and fairy dell,
from riverbank to village green:
the time has come for growing things.
Ode to Beer (A Poem for National Beer Day)
Did you know there’s a National Beer Day? I didn’t, but I do now. And yes, of course I’m celebrating. Here’s a silly poem to prove it.
For you, O Mighty Brew,
libation of
fierce warriors
and
humble monks
alike,
we celebrate this day.
Quencher, and friend,
foe, and consoler,
partner in pleasure,
in sadness,
and (sometimes, perhaps) in crime
(we won’t speak of that now…),
you are a time in yourself,
a moment of fizzy bliss,
of foamy joy.
You, Oh Ancient Potion,
are powerful, potable,
volatile magic.
You make us brave
(but foolish).
You make us wise
(for a while).
To you, I tip my hat.
And then drop it.
Thanks for that.
How a Writer Spends a Rainy Day (A Poem)
little scribbles
tea and pictures
cloudy day
and a notebook page
tiny flowers
welcome the spring
take a moment
reminisce
write and read
and daydream
a letter for every raindrop
Limitless (A Poem)
I spoke to the horizon,
to the brightest sky and bluest water.
I said,
“You are limitless.”
It spoke back,
“So are you.”
Bones (A Poem)
I carry it with me,
this bag of bones,
of broken down building blocks.
These I have gathered,
these moldering bits of a million little memories,
times and places and people,
thousands over the course of a life,
tucked away for safekeeping.
It drags behind me,
clatters and clacks in a diabolical cacophony.
Always I carry this calcified collection,
but only a few can see,
and those few know the weight of it themselves.
They carry their own
bones in sacks, dangling from weary hands.
Why is not the question.
It is when.
When to open it?
And which.
Which to choose?
And how.
How to fit that one fragile bit into the puzzle just so.
Oh yes,
the burden is heavy,
and every day it grows.
But for those who carry the bags,
curate the bones and create new skeletons,
there is no greater treasure.
To the Women Who Came Before (A Poem for Women’s History Month)
To you,
the women,
the warriors and weavers and
witches and wanderers,
the brave and bold
who came before,
I promise this:
My light will magnify your light.
I will shine because
you reached for the sky
and grabbed the sun and moon and stars
to fight the darkness.
Your words,
your courage,
your heart,
your home –
the one you made with your own hands –
will live on in me.
I will stand and speak.
My voice will carry as yours,
over the mountains you climbed,
across the sands of time
and the pillars and platforms you built.
I won’t make myself small
just to fit into the corners
of a world made and sustained
by mothers.
I cradle your wisdom in my soul
because you carved a place for it.
I will keep that place
sacred and whole.
I will nurture the fire you lit
and pass the eternal torch.
In Like a Lion (A Poem)
Leonine you are, we say,
but today, only light –
winds,
clouds,
gray, mild sunshine,
and a breezy chill in the air.
Perhaps you’re saving energy,
waiting for better prey –
a colder, wetter, wilder moment,
a time to truly roar,
to give a little more of your royal self.
You’ll pounce then,
claws and jaws and teeth and trouble,
and surprise us all.
A Virginia Writer's Diary 