To be happy
you must name your children
after wolves
or parakeets
(see them run, see them hunt, see them chirp and fly).
To be happy, truly,
you must go out after dark
and squint
until you see something
(you know what I mean).
What I’m telling you is,
to be happy
you must grab a bag of Cheetos
and crayons
and sit poolside
like a loony
whispering love notes
to the sky
(write them down,
make a poem
in color,
and lick your fingers).
Just do it.
You’ll feel better,
trust me.
© 2025 Jennifer Wagner
 |
Yabber-yabber, do
bird,
it’s no ordinary thing
to hang a song in a tree,
to make a valentine of music,
sweet songbird,
on the vine.
Here I am
all blush and flush and flutter,
raptured full and giddy,
on your golden, wild wine.
© 2025 Jennifer Wagner
Again for Shay's word garden word list (still open for linking): flutter, giddy, golden, wild, yabber-yabber, and for Dora's dverse poetics reimagining (closed/too late for linking).
Photo: French horn hanging from a tree at the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun.