Poetry

londonpoem #2 with my sister or my cousin or myselfI have wandered through a number offamous galleries louvre uffizzi hermitagevatican viewed medieval and renaissancepaintings galore noted the favorite pinupof the times the blue robed gentle motherand her naked chubby child sometimessaint john is alongside being babysatI think I wrote about it once washday ingalilee the […]

 manzanar poem #2 we’ve been fortunate thesemany years to have yosh goldenin our midst writing about theamerican concentration campwhere she was born also talkingto schools of this shameful andunpublicized part of our historynow we’ve been blessed by theskills and sensitivity of kazukoher daughter who has produceda prize-winning film on manzanarit was shown here last week […]

back in the days when planeswere being hijacked to cubarecall? – my brother-in-law’smother refused to fly becauseshe was afraid of being hijackedto cuba eventually she moved toa nursing home in wisconsin viafamily transportation after a bitshe died her body was flownfrom madison to ohio for burialbut missed the service becausethe plane was hijacked to cuba

overseas visit #1 it is a cathedral the museum ofnatural history in london youtraverse the length of the ornatenave to where, at the apse, risetier on tier of white marble stepsleading to the white marble deitysitting bemused his meditativeeyes on a blue whale’s immensebones hanging the length of theclerestory I climb those steps sitat the […]

whynever poem #1 four boggling things:first, that there is “is”–that there’s any “is”at all – second, thatthis “is” has producedlife – third, that somelife is thinking andself aware (maybemore than we know) andfourth, this aware lifepossesses emotions; wecan love and care – suchamazing things – onemight add a fifth – that inthe reaches of an […]

as a kid I scarcely knew jean davisshe was one of the older kids inturtle her name was maxworthyI called her up many years agosaid I’ve been reading about youin the paper – WHAT!? – you werequeen I said in the 4-H pageant1937 in janesville your float ledthe parade you wore a peach gownshe started […]

dichotomy poem # 1 some news is heartening they’reclosing roads in the shawnee forestfor the next two months so thatcritters that creep crawl slideslither may go from summer homesto winter hideouts with no dangerof being smished by treads and tiressome news is disheartening there’sa recent pesticide on the market itaids monsanto gmo soybeans natchbut drifts […]

nada poem #101 my kids – actually nobody –wants to hear the stories that enthralled us as smallkids for instance a favoriteuncle told scary stories onewas of the ghost peeping overthe foot of the bed and sayingin ghastly voice, “It flo-o-ats!”while you cower under thecovers the apparition repeats“It flo-o-ats!” finally you getenough courage and quaver“What  […]

whatsup poem #11 my college major classics(latin greek ancient history)has stood me in good steadright now viewing our landI see plenty of parallels suchas rome going from senatorsto dictators to derangedemperors appointing horsesto office finally disintegrationwhen visigoths or was it hunsanyway hordes descendon an empire in disarray ©2017 Jacqueline Jackson

vermont report 2017 #4 my daughter is a loonfar out in the lakeher head disappearshow many secondsten–eleven–twelve– then it bobs up  somewhere else ©2017 Jacqueline Jackson

I think on leaving here I’ll missthe greens the most they are inconstant change with clouds withwind or mirrored in the lake a lineof tolkien says in every wood inevery spring there is a differentgreen I’ll see these different greensagain I’ll hear my daughter saywhen I point out a leaf upon the pathall leaves are […]

vermont report 2017 #2 I give up there is no spaceto tell what’s happening at this placethe lovely lake is loony stilla caterpillar scoops the hillmy stripy oar is broke who knowsit happened when this camp was closed it’s cold enough to wear to bed a stocking cap upon the head and how can you […]