Our souls slip off quietly
While we talk.
They make their way
To the Starlit Ballroom
While our eyes light candles
That shine off all the crystal globes
And glitter all around.
The night twirls the sky,
And the stars sway
To the music our love makes,
While we talk about pancakes
And our souls dance
In that place where the real things are.

-jenn

The moon is not full tonight,
But I can still see all of it
And it is as dear to me
As when it is bright in the night.

Tonight it's pull is dark.
The dark is sweet,
And this delicious peach may have a pit,
but I have not found it yet,
although I taste it deeply,
over and over.

And still I know,
The best is yet to come.

-jenn

Every year, the flowers return,
And every year, my heart comes back to me.
It beats for me, time, then time and a half,
Then, like a sailor for the sea,
It goes away. I know not where.
Maybe it goes to where the flowers sleep,
Or that place from whence glassy eyes will stare,
Places that are high, also deep.

Someday my heart will go and stay,
And I will sleep beneath the cold hard ground,
And dream of spring and daisies for the day,
And love and Forget-Me-Nots all around.

Come then, and lay your blanket down,
And in the morning sunshine cover me,
Lie on your back and see my sky blue gown.
Be my love. Kiss all over me.

-jenn

I waved at lady liberty,
But lady liberty was a man
Advertising a tax service,
And his arm got tired
Just as I drove by,
So he didn't wave back,
But put his arm down
And frowned.

And then I sat
At the back of the church
And waited for the polls to close.
I watched the candidates stream online.
They tweeted about their penis size.

I wish I could tell you
It was all a dream,
But when I dream,
I arrive at the Olympic tryouts
For pole vault,
And there's Caitlyn Jenner
Warming up to try out too,
So I don't even
Get out of my car.

-jenn

I saw a mom at an event today,
Down on her hands and knees,
Cleaning up a drink her child had spilled on the floor.
I walked by on my way to the counter to get a coke,
And on my way back, I saw she'd had to go get more paper towels.
She mopped and mopped an endless mess that didn't seem to get any smaller.

A little bit later I walked by them again on my way to the restroom.
She was still cleaning up the mess,
While her two children and husband
Sat watching the show.
I came by and took my seat,
Rejoined the show already in progress.
But as I sat,
The image came to my mind again,
How her two children sat watching the show,
And her husband,
While she alone busied herself with removing the spill,
And then I realized
That I hadn't bothered to stop and help her either.

-jenn

She thought she was leaving early.
She put her clothes on and went out the back door,
Stumbled right into broad daylight.
A couple of the neighbors were walking their dogs.
A kid played with hot wheels out on the curb.
She held her head up but turned it away
To avoid condescending stares
Or recognition.
She thought she was leaving early.
Well, it was early for her.

I wanted to take her by the hand,
Look her in the eye
And tell her it's OK.
It's all about self revelation.
We're all doing the best we can,
And we are all paddling from the same canoe.
But I knew it wouldn't do any good,
Because I'd gotten up too early,
Too early for me anyway.

-jenn

Muse

The brain needs something to open it
So it can come out and play.
It likes to see something worth thinking about.
The muse inspires
The model, the clay.
The canvas soon calls out.

The strings, the dream like ringtones,
The heaven in my head,
Desire to pore over you,
Kiss you, stir you from your bed,
And tell you the stories
That love to be told.
And paint you,
And show you the beautiful place
That you hold
In my universe.

-jenn