Insight

He had always wanted to meet Thor Heyerdahl ,

And now that he was dead, he could,

And, in fact, had been granted his wish

Of meeting two others he’d always held in high esteem

While he was living.

But because he had to go back in time to meet them,

He had a chance to view their lives in rewind, too.

In toto, he could see how they had actually been,

How they had treated their own families,

And he found that they were all assholes.

But then he arrived at a place in space and time where they were born.

What sweet babies they all three were!

And he managed to peek behind the curtain 

To find them as their spirits were in death now,

So perfect, and so at peace with themselves and everyone else!

And so he decided that in his next life,

He wasn’t going to wish to meet anyone famous,

Or either would he work to be anyone whom others might admire,

But his only striving would be to stay as innocent 

As the glorious, angelic infants he’d seen were.

-jenn

 Practice Squad

The unsung heroes of the practice squad!

The better they are,

The better your team will be!

Nameless, faceless wildmen 

Who square up for fun on the frienemy:

The starters!

They run divine routes,

Inspired by some hidden energy matrix.

They gather strength from an unknown source, 

Motivated by something intangible 

And incorruptible.

They can’t be bought.

They can’t be sold.

But they can take you places,

Or they can take yours.

It’s rare, but brother, when they do,

When they rise up through the ranks of the five star blue bloods,

They become the very ones

Who get statues of themselves placed

 In front of the stadiums!

The eternal spirit of the underdawg!

They are gold

In a silver standard.

They deserve our notice and respect.

My hat is off to you today,

You great, unsung heroes of the venerate and venerable practice squad!

-jenn

 Systems 

The trunk, the leaves, the seeds, the fruit:

These are the visible parts of the tree.

But what about the sap, the root?

Aren’t these just as important to the vitality?

And what about the rain, the wind?

The stars throughout the farthest cosmos 

Send forth their rays of energy.

It’s not just the sun that shines.

What about you? What about me?

Are we not also an integral component 

Of every tree?

And what about you?

What about me?

Are we not a part of one another?

Are we not a complex system, too,

Like the tree, with roots that are hidden,

Beyond our fathers,

Beyond our mothers?

Are you not a living beam of energy,

Affected by the stars that shine

From the farthest depths of the galaxy

And beyond?

Is not every essence of existence, 

Any possible creation, seen or unseen,

A spectre of systems that spring forth

All from the same great intangible source

That may, or may not, be hidden from us,

That we may, or may not, become aware of

At some point of realization that we could perceive,

If we could just get

Beyond our beliefs.

-jenn

Perspective 

It’s just a red umbrella

And an orange poolside chair,

But the ripples on the water

Make the reflection there seem to be

A million butterflies.

I stare into the crystal blue 

Waters of the hotel pool 

Into the mirage.

And what’s funny is,

Of all the butterflies I have ever seen,

These are the most beautiful.

They’re magical.

They pop like bubbles

Then reappear

In a place that seems deeper

And more “in.”

They come and go.

I have the urge to dive in to them

And see their world below.

And who knows?

Maybe I would look up,

And then,

Would I see

From within, 

How magical,

How beautiful,

How unreal 

The reflection

Of this stale old world’s exterior 

Might look to me?

-jenn