Monday, December 30, 2013

Tongues Afire

I sing my praise in foreign tongue,
In language that no land can claim,
With archaic words that Time’s forgot,
In an ancient slang.
In perfect meter, and perfect diction,
I praise the properties of heat and friction,
And the hollow of your thigh,
The perfect tension of your breastbone,
The deep resonance of the baritone waves
You press from your throat,
And the other frequencies
That undulate me
When your love sighs.

Oh, keep me singing
In present tense
Til all my garbled praise
Makes sense,
Until my wells run clear
And sweet
And dry.


-jenn long

River Don't Know

River don’t know
That the shortest distance
Between two points
Is straight.
He meeee-anders
And winds his way down around
Through the meadow
And the Sweet Gum Trees.
And like that long and crooked finger
That tickes, “Come on,”
River surely do go
Through the lowest of places—
The valleys, and down,
And on,
Makin’ his way to the deeps.


-jenn long

Vanity Sam

We swirl around busy,
Out and in,
Like any of it matters
And back again.
We get so focused
And serious,
When all we need’s a sammich
And a pot to piss in,
And we could be happy with that….
…..and really, might never miss the pot.


-jenn long

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

.....and i had plans

….and I had plans.
I thought I’d put a load in the washer,
So I could have clean towels, someday.
But I saw holiness alive in that place
And had to create a sacred delay.
For scriptures really are no use
To one who sees
The Lord’s face everywhere.
Just as washers are superfluous
To One with no need of towels.

And I find I have no need
No lack, no want of anything.
For I am full of Love, Today,
And Peace,
And Fire,
And everything Good.

I am free from every result,
And do what I do from the Love that I feel
Coursing through what’s left of me—
The Love of Life,
The Love of You.


-jenn long

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Sacred Kimono Painting

I stand before your holy statue,
And like a child,
I’ve drawn on you—
Watercoloured
Bright and fuchsia blossoms
Down your cheeks
And the bridge of your nose.

My untaught hands
Explore your body,
Seek to feel
And understand,
While I look
To see if anyone’s watching,
And pretend to paint
Your kimono again.


-jenn long

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Greenbean Cherry Pie

I dreamed last night of the important people,
And how I kept trying to plead my case,
To explain why I had done the things I had
And be justified in their eyes.
But Her eyes didn’t have the time
And couldn’t look at the likes of me
For very long, for She had
Better things to think about,
And others, more important than herself
To try and look good for.

And so I went back to my mud
And made a greenbean-cherry pie,
And after thinking about it all,
I ate it by myself.


-jenn long

Friday, December 20, 2013

BedBoat

I'll fantasize with you.
I'll pretend
The bed is floating off again,
Adrift in a lonesome sea
Somewhere down in the south pacific,
Where tropical winds are less specific,
And the moon is twice as full.

The waves can lull us off tonight.
There's nothing else
But you
And the bright love
That you beam my way.


-jenn long

Blaaaaaaa Blaaaaaaaa Blaaaaa

The last time I saw him,
He was poorly drawn,
Underfed, and limbs were starting to turn.
Hooves were growing where his hands had been,
And buds of horn topped his temples shorn.

The pupils of his eyes were going square,
And on his body, coarse and matted hair grew,
And as I said goodbye and turned to go,
The hardheaded thing bleated
And said hello.


-jenn long

Thursday, December 19, 2013

I Love You

There is a power that finishes off
Poverty’s earthborn lack.
It brings to level the low places,
Completes each unfinished task,
Fills the gap,
And drives you to the heart of heaven,
But it will not bring you back
To the squalor that it found you in
Or the rumpled paper sack
That you called lunch.

There is a power
That fulfills
And never lets you down.
It drives you to your knees
And it gets you out of town.
It puts your feet on clouds of cotton,
Your bodice in velvet gowns,
And wraps you up
And swaddles you
Until you get enough.

This power brings tears
To mighty men,
Brings smiles to lonely eyes,
Brings a ray of golden hope
To dark and overcast skies,
And if you never, never did
Know this power true,
I hope you know—
Someway, somehow,
How much that I love you.


-jenn long

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Or Should I Seek Another?

Tell me. Tell me— on the wind.
Tell me on the sly.
Tell me who you are again.
Tell me. Please don’t lie.
Tell me true.
Is it you?
Or should I seek another?

                Others who are full of faith
                Say you come to them in dreams.
                Come to me, and show your face.
                Ride the living beams of light
                That shine outside my window.

Tell me. Tell me— on the wind.
Tell me on the sly.
Tell me who you are again.
Tell me. Please don’t lie.
Tell me true.
Is it you?
Or should I seek another?

I see a brilliant flash of light—
                A memory when I was 5—
                Unrequited gift of life—
                Tells me what I’m all about.
                Tells me true.
It is you,
And there is no other.

On the breeze
He tells me true,
“I AM you,
And there is no other.”


-jenn long

Phantom of the Nocturna

You're here,
Beside me,
Warm and real.
And then,
In the middle of the night
The devil comes
And steals you away from me.

I am stunned
And without a voice
And fade into dark and fitful sleep.

But somehow,
You break loose
And return.
Up and by my side
You nestle in,
Curled up
In the curve of my naked belly,
And I hold you in silence,
Until the daylight comes,
And steals you away again.


-jenn long

Cloudbursts

This was my favorite kind of day—
Where the sun bursts in brilliant streaks
From behind the mottled clouds.
Yellow rays symmetric
Angle perfectly
Against the rain,
And show the hidden beauty
Of revelation within the darkness.

A million and one things
Roll in to only two:
You're in love with me,
And I'm in love with you.
And all of it together—
The bliss and misery,
Magnetizes both the poles,
And makes our worlds go round.


-jenn long

Monday, December 9, 2013

Depolarized

I wouldn’t give a nickel for my journey now.
I wouldn’t give a dime for yours.
I don’t have a quarter,
And there aren’t any phones,
So I can’t call a soul who cares.
But if I had a dollar,
Or five, or ten,
I’d go to Mirawasu again,
And again,
Until my current depolarized
And my head hit the back of the floor.
Then I’d stomp all my currency into plough shares,
And grow corn and beans,
And I wouldn’t study war no more.
No more.
No.
I wouldn’t study anything.


-jenn long

Serious Love

Take my hand
In a strong way,
Like a stiff drink,
Or a potent mint.
Pull me to the place
Where you exist essentially.

For I am in need
Of serious love.
Please, don’t be afraid of me,
For I have no power to harm.
But you, possess yourself.
Possess me, too.
Hold me in the deep recesses
Of your mind.
Let me live in the chambers of your heart
And pulse a fair tonicity
Through your very veins.

Let me find you
Beyond the tips of your fingers.
Let me see who is there,
Up, over your shoulder blades,
Between your ribs,
And deep within the caduceus
Of your breastbone.

Take my hand,
And put it gently o’er your face.
Let these blind eyes
Have a look at who it is
That lurks, so sweetly, and dark,
In my shadow as I dance.


-jenn long

Sunday, December 8, 2013

The Sweet Herbs

I don’t mind sharing the air with you,
Eyebright,
Or with you,
Feverfew.
So I’ll just rest in the Coxcomb here,
Like the lilies and mandrakes do,
Until the Ladybugs whisper
That it is safe to go home.
Then I’ll breathe a breath or two,
And then, I’ll surely go.

-jenn long

Every Pocket Has A Silver Lining

I have a silver-lined pocket.
It’s tiny—
Just my size.
But it can heal any sickness,
Rectify any malfease.

Come and put one finger in.
See what you can find
To heal you whole,
And fix your soul,
And make you smile again.


-jenn long

Belly Flop

Even my olfactory sensors
Like to play tricks on me.
For I could swear I smell you,
Though I can plainly see
That you are nowhere near.
And yet the pheromones swim inside my head.

I climb the high dive, anyway,
To see if you’ll notice me,
And when I reach the top,
I see you, right there,
On the life guard chair.
I pause for just a moment,
Feeling like a swan.
Though usually I belly bust,
I breathe deep and take the plunge.
And now I’m going under,
All the way,
Ten feet deep.
I see the other swimmers
From their necks down,
Kicking their legs and feet.

And now I’m coming up for air,
And push up beside you and plop
Down and bask beside you,
Unabashed,
Belly still red
From my belly flop.


-jenn long

Hiding Becomes Her

I was hiding under the table
When you came
And made love to me.
Then we lay together there
And looked up
At the graffiti underneath.
We took turns reading
The vulgate wisdom tucked away.
We cried at the beauty
And the truth
Until we laughed again.
And then we stayed
In each other’s arms
And, My Love,
You loved me so,
Until the day became the night,
And night became the day,
And I became myself,
And now, even hiding becomes me.


-jenn long

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Games People Play

I’d like to know the name
Of the game you play,
And, maybe just a few of the rules.
I won’t commit too many to memory.
I’ve a strange inclination
You change them.

I see the chalk lines drawn out here,
But don’t know if I’m in bounds or out.
And now I hear the referee’s whistle,
But don’t know what that’s about.
I have a strong urge
To ask someone for time,
But is this the beginning
Or the end of the game?
Maybe I’ll try one long shot at the buzzer.

If I make it,
Everyone cheers.
If I don’t,
I’ll disappear into the locker room
And flush myself down the toilet

Again……


-jenn long

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Well, Will Ya?

Will you love me
If I never ‘mount ta much
In this ole world?
Will ya love me
If I never find myself,
Or what I’m looking for?
Will ya love me
In the mornin’?
Will ya love me
In the day?
Will you love me
When the evenin’ comes
To steal your heart away?

Will ya love me
When I’m grumpy?
Will ya love me
When I’m blue?
Will ya love me
When I embarrass myself,
Or, when I embarrass you?
Will ya love me
When I’m silly,
Or when, occasionally, I’m true?
Will you love me
When I’m so intent,
And all I want is you?

Well, will  ya…….?


-jenn long

Monday, December 2, 2013

WordGames

Do you like me putting words into your mouth?
I could put some other things in there.
But I don’t want to stuff you full
Of anything you might not want,
And so,
I’ll just keep up both ends of this conversation
In my mind, until
I hear from you, and know
What it is that you would really say,
And what it is that you might really do,
And I am sure that I will be surprised,
For I don’t think I know you well at all,
But I sure think I’d like to.


-jenn long