winter cheer

 

 

punxsutawney phil

said there’ll be more winter chill—

 

but around here

there’s winter cheer and (root)beer,

 

tell that mole—

‘cause hawks are going to the super bowl

 

 

© 2026 jennifer wagner

 

poetic bloomings #580: relative cold

 

photo © ian wagner

Loon Lake

 

The three of us,

with the late afternoon sun

in our hair,

semi-stuck in the reeds,

using paddles to try to turn

that little pedal boat around,

our laughter

catching the ears of teen boys

who came to give us a push—

 

where did we each end up—

different places,

but still,

the three of us,

nudged by

wind, water, sun,

 

have memory

of the last golden glint

of rowing together

in a coming-of-age summer,

and the haunting song

of loons on the lake

here and gone.

 

 

© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

dVerse Poetics

 

happiness is sleeping in (a nonet)

 

after a restful night’s sleep, i woke

to soft rain, the rap of a bird

on the pane—like music spun

for a chorus of play—

instead of the dread,

ache of the head,

and the plans of

an alarm-

devised

day

 

© 2025 jennifer wagner

 

dVerse poetics