So, I'll never go to a chiropractor
Because I had a dream
That a chiropractor diagnosed me
With a fatal cancer, that, in fact,
Was my demise.

So you might mock me
And say I'd rather die
Than go to a chiropractor,
And think me stubborn,
Or superstitious.

But truth be told,
I just want to die with dignity
A kind of death that life deserves,
Without all the bells and whistles,
Such as hair all falling out,
Or needles and probes
Needling and probing.

Because the truth is
We're all going to die.
And our polite society,
With all it's traditions,
Religion, and cultures,
Soap operas game shows,
Football and politics,
Distract us from this ultimatum,
And divide us into small minded
Shallow waders
Who don't look deep
Out past the harbor
To see
That we are all brothers and sisters
Who have been orphaned, after all,
And we journey together
In the very same paddle boat.

-jenn

"I hate you," he says and stares two holes in my eyes shaped just like his.
And I smirk and shake my head because I know
That I'm the only one he ever goes out of his way to sit by
At McDonald's
Or anywhere else we happen to go.

"I hate you soooo much," he says
As he plops on my lap in the early morning,
And I have to laugh and shake my head again,
And think to myself,
"He's lucky I speak 14."

-Jenn

I wish I were the kind of friend
Who'd come and scrub your dishes off,
Those stubborn places that you can't get clean.
But to tell the truth I don't even notice
Little things like that,
Or dust or clutter of any type at all.

I'm more the type to come and sit
And sip on tea
And nibble cake
And listen
And nod my head a lot
And never offer good advice at all.

-jenn

He tells himself she's not to old for him .
Why! When he's thirty, she'll be 52!
And all of that is over the hill, anyhow.
So they can just sit, by then,
On the front porch steps and shell peas
And watch the world go by.

But right now he's got whiskers on his face,
And his heart burns to love her if he can.
If she could wait for him
Til after school,
He would do his best
To make her young again.

-jenn

That night you snubbed me,
I saw you dressed in black
On the far side of the auditorium.
And I had enjoyed the show
All by myself.
I went out to my car
Into the night,
Starlight and other people's headlights
Lit the way,
And you called me,
But didn't dare to say hello,
Only played a song
On the reddio.
But I was already listening
In my car.

And you sounded drunk
And hoarse from all that rehearsing,
But you were sweet,
And so I listened a bit.
But you didn't ask me what I'd been up to,
And I'd had quite an afternoon.
I took a shower in the yard
In just my panties.
I found I didn't have a drop of any shampoo.
And a pickup load
Of tall dark strangers
Came along to see the oil wells,
And they had an entire bottle.

And their shampoo was orange and bright
And took all the grease right out of my hair.
Then they had driven on their way,
Leaving me here,
As everyone does,
But a few had turned to look back
To see the orange suds
Dripping.

-jenn

My memories of the things you say and do,
Like little foxes returning stolen goods,
Come to me with joy and great intrigue,
Surprise me and delight my heart and mind.
The ribbon I lost at the 1980 fair,
The locket that I thought was gone for good,
The earring that fell off out in the woods,
The bracelet that beguiled me and was charmed,
When you smile and shine your catlike eyes,
And ask to take my socks off of my feet,
And whisper secrets in my other ear,
Or ask me if I've had enough to eat,
These things more than satisfy my need,
And shine like diamonds worn by Pleiades .

-jenn

He held his breath
Until I moved away
It only took two years
And forty-seven days
And now he's back to normal
So they say

.....ehhhhh

-jenn