July 2021
Bio Note: I live in Wisconsin, where I write, draw and paint, and often photograph my natural surroundings. I've authored five poetry collections and two children's books. As If Labyrinth - Pandemic Inspired Poems was released in May 2021 from Kelsay Books. I'm an animal lover, a nature enthusiast, poetry editor of an online literary magazine, and a part-time 2nd and 3rd grade teacher. My husband and I recently adopted a rescue puppy; her name is Molly.
Blooming into the Vanishing Point
As tulip cups sip the subtlety of breeze
the velvet mouths of snapdragon
smooth beside the pyrotechnics of bergamot.
Her garden sways with the picturesque effusion of beauty
where she revisits memories of Amsterdam
her college choir bus
as it traveled past field after rolling field
bestowed landscape after petalled landscape.
Like impressionist paintings
floral works of art receded into the oculi of space.
As if one-point perspective depicted her life
as it journeyed toward an invisible destination
aligned with rows of efflorescence
roses and violets
bee balm and bachelor buttons
trilliums
when lambkin-hands held wild rudbeckia bouquets
and curiosity found fascination with the species of balloon flower
Platycodon grandifloras.
She’d examine the lantern-like shapes
the soft
inflated blossoms
as her wee thumb and index finger pinched the purple puffs—
Don’t pop the blue bells!
She’d hear her father call
though her ears were attuned to the buds’ exhalation
the sounds of each echo.
As if she’d discovered a preparatory act
a prophetic practice
a function of what to expect when her own bloom
exhaled
echoed
and vanished from view.
Calling for Jelly, a Villanelle
The suet’s been eaten, the grape jelly’s low,
the oriole whistles, please fill my dish.
Nighttime nurtures with a vespertine glow.
The grackles assemble as do the crows.
The osprey embeds its talons in fish.
The suet’s been eaten, the grape jelly’s low,
the blue jay intones its rusty hello.
The breeze slides in whispers, lands as if kiss,
nighttime nurtures with a vespertine glow.
The squirrels chase squirrels, dash to and fro,
the oriole repeats, please fill my dish.
The suet’s been eaten, the grape jelly’s low,
the hostas host nibblers, Mama plus doe.
The Earth bestows bounty, besprinkles bliss,
nighttime nurtures with a vespertine glow.
Nourishment shines where horizon’s light flows.
Replenishment calls, responds to the wish.
The suet’s been eaten, the grape jelly’s low,
nighttime nurtures with a vespertine glow.
©2021 Jeannie E. Roberts
Editor's Note: If this poem(s) moves you please consider writing to the author (email address above) to tell her or him. You might say what it is about the poem that moves you. Writing to the author is what builds the community at Verse Virtual.
It is very important. -JL