Monday, May 2, 2016

Season of Innocence/sense(s)






Today smells like new lilacs
and the warm redbrick
of the library baking slightly
in the springtime glow.

Today looks like my smiling-eyed son
toting a stack of books,
the pep and hop
of his bright, young step next to mine.

Today sounds like the train,
always going somewhere, like we are,
even when standing still.

Today feels like that moment
I recognize
I’ll have only once

--and tastes
like goodnight
on the lips
of a season

better than summer,
innocent and golden.


© 2016 Jennifer Wagner


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

war for me





my brokenness has borne
the fruit
of a thousand sorrows

piece by piece by piece
piercing by piercing by piercing
arrows of unlove
unbecoming
to become

what can only be
remedied
by the man of sorrows

acquainted with grief
my grief

borne
in love’s long-suffering war


© 2016 Jennifer Wagner



“Love is a long-suffering war.” –Janet Martin, poet extraordinaire


Note:  over at dVerse the prompt is to write a secret admirer poem and since my poem is a bit similar to the guidelines of the prompt offered I wanted to make mention of it--though I didn’t write it in response.


Monday, April 25, 2016

Butterfly, Rest



We captured blown kisses
left like a note
on the kitchen table
saying,

I’ll be back soon--
just went to the grocery
to pick up a few things.

If we only knew
then,

that last sprinkling,
last dot under the heart
she drew

on the page
was her final
wingspread

now folded.


© 2016 Jennifer Wagner


for edr and kjt

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Sevenling (In that Dream)


image source

In that dream, I had all day and more
in the lavender field, sunlight speckling
my arms, my legs, the straw hat sheltering my face.

It was one I'd never worn before,
but you were there, sunny, honeyed
and yellowing all my purple darkness,

as it always should have been.


© 2016 Jennifer Wagner



This was written for De's dVerse Meeting the Bar: the Sevenling. I was unable to post it in time so I'll be linking it to dVerse OLN.