Poetry

grandchildpoem #1 rachel’s glazed eyes don’t stray from the screen when grandma bounces in from two-hundred miles away she doesn’t recognize grandma as a fairy godmother © Jacqueline Jackson 2005

sciencepoem #1 I heard him say it, the noted cosmologist: nothing is nothing © Jacqueline Jackson 2005

Green (For Sterling, age five) He colors the Hulk in bold and muscled green, determined to stay within the lines. He writes his name in struggled letters across the page. He reads now too — Triceratops roar and pythons slither off the page into imagination. He conquers monsters, armies, ninjas With the bravado of a […]

travelpoem #1 we went all the way to ireland and spent a dublin sunday morning at the unitarian church how crazy can that be the sermon was called cowboys and indians we sang a hymn about rootworms in the afternoon we saw the book of kells and had carrot soup with ginger © Jacqueline Jackson […]

poolpoem #1 my seven a.m. swimming buddy I know only by his paunch and red trunks. his sinewy friends call him Judge. when he doesn’t show up for several days I feel mild concern. I don’t think he’s doing bench presses. © Jacqueline Jackson 2005

La Pie Elle envie la pie à coté Du cottage jaune, Parce que là, On trouve la neige d’hiver, Le ciel, le soleil, et la pais D’une palette par Monet. She envies the magpie beside The yellow cottage, Because there One finds winter snow The sky, the sun, and the peace Of a Monet pallet. […]

kinquote poem #1 when I told my daughter ‘d been asked to do a poem a week for the downstate newspaper she said I’m not telling you how to run your life or anything, mom, but why would you want to take on something new when you’re always trying to get rid of stuff? but […]

Readers, it is a good time for saying goodbye. I have enjoyed being here these many months, but I have so many other things I want to do and who knows the time may be short for doing them. So I leave you with lines from Chinkapin Oak about First Night in 1995. — John […]

lighting the christmas tree in the auburn square   this tree will be our own rising star it will sparkle even if there are clouds in the sky this soft-needled fir glowing with light the greens blues reds the yellows all the good colors these tinsel cheers in a dark evening the winter wearing to […]

Granny Longlegs Granny Longlegs can’t get a grip on the wall papered with silver leaves. Slides, catches herself, slides again, wiry legs radiating, graceful arabesque. This sentient arachnid knows I’m watching, knows predators are attracted by motion. She freezes compact as an amulet. How many spells does she know? Where in a form so small […]

walking in snow shutting down time to walk in the snow make footprints where there are none only the crooked marks of the dogs mooch or joe the best of dogs it is good coming down this slope the dogs have been buried how long now oh these many years today the leafless trees shout […]

something about love love is like a bowlso when you break itglue it togetherif it won’t hold waterfill it with apples © John Knoepfle 2004