Lipstick

I prayed today.
Although I'm not sure
What it is that I believe in,
Except maybe Life,
And Love,
And White Lies,
And Lipstick.

But deep within myself
I heard a ring
Of golden chimes,
And their specific knell
Drove me to a state of peace,
Believing,
That God resides
In earth, and heaven, and hell,
And here,
Where bells ring
Deep inside myself.

-jenn long

I'm Not Afraid

I remember a note
That Sissy Banner
Was said to have passed
To Johnny Chebb.
"I'm not afraid
To f-u-c-k with you,"
It supposedly said.
We were in seventh grade.

This incident
Has stuck with me
For 34 years.
I wonder at the power
And the knowledge
A 13 year old girl could possess,
When I was still terrified
At 27.

-jenn long

Mach's Principle

Sensitive souls are affected
By events from light years away.
Mass and acceleration expand
And Force feels magnified.
My head sees possibilities
That suggest your love to me.
As above, so below.
Push the envelope
And the chair back in under the table,
And I'll know about it.

Put your feet up on the ottoman
And breathe a heavy sigh.
Tilt your head back
And close your weary eyes.
Catch a vision of your power.
Let it roll within your mind.
Capture the heart beat in your own breast,
And I'll know about it.

-jenn

A stranger came and sat down at my table.
I never took time to look him in the eye.
Too busy moving clutter, making gravy,
I didn't know that life had passed me by.

A stranger came and sat down at my  table.
I cleared the table off and looked at him.
We sat and talked and laughed at life for hours,
Until my lights and eyesight both grew dim.

And then we stood and walked outside together.
He held my hand and kissed my lips goodnight.
But he never left me for the morning.
His love has cleared the air from wrong or right.

And I will sleep beside him in the cedars.
The pine cones fall upon the swollen knolls.
The hoar frost comes to cover all in whiteness.
The rest is here to purify our souls.

-jenn long

Can You Stand It?

Oh I've got such a poem
Brewing and brooding
Inside of me.
But who will be able to stand up under its weight?

It's great message
Of Love and Life?
The reverberations alone will shiver
And splinter the weak of heart
Or those prone to fear.

But come and let me
Unleash myself.
Let me give you a full throttle lovin'.
Allow the flood to swallow you,
And then,
If you can still breathe,

Quit on your own,
Then plunge into
A Love that is
More delicious than death.
Let The Poem awake us
To a Life
That is desperate to live.

-jenn

I hope I do

I hope I do get skin cancer
Just so you can say I told you so
I hope my colon swells and bursts
From this wrongful diet you hate
I pray to come down with lung cancer
So you can wonder if I secretly smoked
Or maybe I'll just die of aids

And when I'm gone
All you smug sons a bitches
That have never done anything wrong in your lives
Can smirk
As you go
Like some college freshmen
Convinced
Of your immortality

All The Voices

It takes all the voices
To make the symphony,
And we don't know
What notes before them
Make them sing or shout or rest.
But the bigger picture holds
The squawks and squeaks
Of life's array,
And we can choose
What we like best.
But the bigger picture holds
The keys to the entirety,
And some of those in aversion nest,
And they are just as powerful
As those we find so sweet
And good in the bigger picture.

-jenn long