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

Connected

I've had this dream before like de javu
I catch a fleeting glimpse of you
And feel connected
We're so connected
And even tho the day was hot
We found a place where it was not
To get connected
So connected
Cause you know right from the start
You had a place right here in my heart
Connected

When I look down the road a few
I can see me and I can see you
Connected
So connected
There'll be those long hard days
It's all good and gonna be ok
Connected
Let's stay connected
We'll be up or we 'll be blue
But I'm never gonna give up on you
Connected
We're So connected

Hey babe whaddaya say
Keep on keepin on
Let's stay
Connected

Big Men

I saw a big man today
He lifted his grown son
Out of his motorized wheelchair
And set him in the back seat of his extended cab pickup

They'd been out to breakfast
With two of their friends
I saw the young man's face
Drawn and strained
By a birth defect
A deadly one
Known as muscular dystrophy

Well they could have stayed home
It would have been easier
But I'm glad they took the time
And trouble
To come to town so we could see them
They were both
Big enough men to let us

*My Son had a lot of deep questions
And we both cried when he got to the one
That asked if there was a cure

-jenn long

Herd of Turtles

Sometimes I feel like a turtle
Trying to cross the road.
There are lots of hazards,
And I'm moving slow.

Sometimes I wish
Somebody from the turtle club
Would come along and swoop me up,
And get me safely to the other side.

But the way I'm moving,
And the way I look,
They probably couldn't tell
Which way I'm going.

They might pick me up
And put me right back where I started,
And that would not be good.

Then I'd probably pee on 'em,
And they'd drop me on the hard concrete,
Call me "Unthankful,"
And be on their merry way.

But maybe if I could get myself lined out
I wouldn't have to worry about any of that,
And it would be safe to wish again.

-jenn long

Love

Love liberates
It opens doors
Throws open the sash
And says go get it
Love stands
And basks
It dances while it sings
A steady drumbeat
Touches the heart
Pulses code into the skin
It says
Or come, and get it right here

-jenn long 

Onions

Swimming is just not as fun anymore
When someone you know has drowned.
And this really sums up the problem we have with life.
For something somewhere has caused the death
Of all of those who have gone before,
And it steals the joy of doing about anything.

And then people say the stupidest things
To "help you" " get over" "your loss."
Most are well meaning religious folk
Who tell you to "just remember the good times,"
Or "they're in a better place."

But it's days like these I scratch my head
And wonder what's the use?
And try to pull up another tomorrow
Out of the onion patch.
It's a good thing I like onions, you know?

And.... I hope you do toooooo.....
<3 <3 <3

Hermon-y

I woke with a beard
Braided just so that
The oil would gather
And run
In the exact patterns
As the dews of Mt. Hermon
That rivulet down
Together

And as I extend
My olive branch
To you
I know the shadows and types
Have already bucked
Their courses
And challenged the fate of the sun

But what I don't know is
Which exact piece
Will ultimately interlock
And cause the great streams
To flow in the desert again

-jenn long