How Sweet It Is

Drama, drama everywhere,
And not a drop to watch.
We feel we must live it in our hearts and souls.
Reality TV in real life—
It must be spoken,
Nothing held back.
Each one must speak his piece,
Until there is no peace.
Quiet no more!
Reality unleashed!

I don't prefer to live inside
The soap-operatic boundaries.
I seek the aromatic oils of harmony

Which were said to have dripped

Down Aaron’s beard at Hermon.
I long for the tones
That occurs when two
Can walk together as one
In the sweet cool of the day,
And for love's joyful return.

-jenn long

When I Die

When I die,
Don't funeralize me.
Swaddle this hull
In gossamer gauze.
Wrap me but lightly,
And stick me in slant-wise
In a place where flowers already grow.
For I don't know if I'll have
Enough left,
To even push up a daisy.

-jenn long

Prime Minister

He has a knack for sniffing out

The loneliest woman in the crowd.

He hones in on her from afar

And slowly circles in.

She gets dizzy, trying to see

What angle he is taking,

Until he appears, out of nowhere, there,

And offers a sturdy hand.

It’s quite a ministry, really.

A religious service he performs,

Removing them of their heavy yokes,

Unburdening them from their bras.

But he makes them feel beautiful, too,

And that they are want-able again.

He smells really good, tho, and as he smiles,

There’s something about those eyes.

I know one day, he’ll single me out.

I’ll find myself drifting into that spot.

My turn will come to be

The only-est lonely in the room.

And when my number comes up to match his,

I only hope that he’ll still have the gift,

And that he’ll still smell good.

-jenn long

It Is Good

It is good,
My brothers,
My sisters.
It is.
It is good,
This earth
That teems with life.
And we,
We should
Love one another
And realize our common bond.

And whether we hail
From east or west,
Northern or southern
Hemispheres,
Let him who would have friends
Be friendly, and
Polite,
and listen,
And think,
And speak from the heart.

-jenn long

Laws of Chaotic Attraction

Nature abhors an absence of heat.
Things have a way of going from order to harvest.
There is no cold, just a vacuum,
And seedtime into chaos,
As long as the earth exists.

Worth two in a bush
Are birds of a feather,
While a bird in the hand
Will flock together
While attractions are opposites.

So save your pennies
For a stitch in time.
A rainy day will save nine—
Ten, if counting un-hatched chickens.
But yes, opposites do attract.

-jenn long

Co-destructive Dependence

So they skipped the honeymoon
And went straight for the jugular.
With guilt inspiring sarcasm,
Both felt compelled to rationalize infantile behavior.
As endless bitter communications
Continued to bring out the worst in one another,
He wondered what her ring size was,

And planned on setting the date.

-jenn long

Change?

I’ve given up everything—but—that—for you.

Oh, no. Don’t ask me to give—that—up, too.

Might I just keep but one of my faults?

All else has failed me, all else is gone,

But one old trait carries me on.

Can a leopard change its happy spots?

But if I’m required to trade—that—for this,

I fear that the balance will throw so amiss,

That I won’t be at all what I was at the first.

So if you liked me then, why change me?

And if you like me now, a rearrange be

Unnecessary, friend, like it, for better or worse.

-jenn long