stones and water

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

everything here
is stone & water; the slow moulding
of glacier leavings
by centuries of water
wearing its path

there is life
flickering alongside & through
this unhurried, subtle grind;
evident in fossils
& water spiders that skate
on surface tension,
skim over crayfish & tadpoles,
silver, flashing clouds of minnows
& brook trout

we too are all witnesses
& participants,
me, on the bank
floating my legs in the currents
as I write
on the fringe of the equation
as my children splash within it

all our atoms involved
& some dissipate
in silent, pleasurable
erosion.

Posted in life, New Free Verse | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

memorial day

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

there is no romance
in dying a soldier, but
these deaths
deserve remembrance,
and so we place flowers & flags
over the bones of those
whose lives were swallowed by war

our young men,
all sons, some fathers
whose blood flowered
& stained the earth,
their flesh live fodder
for iron gods
who are always hungry

our small, fluttering flags
& red geraniums reflecting
the color of their sacrifice,
whether necessary
or sometimes needlessly given,
poor substitutes
in exchange for a life

but still
the only gesture of thanks
left us to offer them

Posted in New Free Verse | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Animus (for Nancy)

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

she says she thinks
she is part man
in her thinking
& turns to her friends
to validate a femininity

that is visible
to any eyes but her own
measuring her face
in the mirror

but that mirror lies & hides
what is really there;
it is made to magnify flaws
and distort perception

that mirror
will never unmask
her ideas of what men
& women are
or where she feels deficient

perhaps
I am not the best woman
to answer her, but I do

I tell her there is a spark
of animus/masculine energy
that flickers in the spirit of every woman

& hers is simply more awake

& she is no less a woman
or more of a man
for fanning it

Posted in New Free Verse | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

greens

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

today, I choose chard
for bitter earthiness,
sorrel,  amaranth,
& dandelion

offerings for dinner
I would have foraged
if we lived in caves

but, because we do not
my 2 children
will push their plates away

reach for safer choices
of peas & beans,
white rice;
the tastelessness

of what is expected

 

***Late spring/early summer in New York is traumatic for my kids, as I grow (or find) every dark, leafy green (and some purple) imaginable here, and then expect them to at least taste them in salads.  Every year I torment them with kale, collards, orach (aka amaranth), as well as the more easily recognizable spinach and chard.

Posted in New Free Verse | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Were but it so simple

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

only the first time
before we learn carefulness
do we give wildly of ourselves
& without reservation

after that lesson
love becomes more
of a trust exercise:

if you catch me
once
when I fall backwards,
then I will show you a map

through land mines
& razor wire
surrounding my heart,
either protecting
or restraining it

defenses
we must willfully teach each other
to forget

***Rhonda, this was inspired by your comment!  Forgive the roughness as I sand & plane it down through the day.

Posted in New Free Verse | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

led

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

unwilling to define
this giddiness that leads me,
stumbling
like a woman drunk on air
or sunlight

instead of labeling
& analyzing
I would rather
be simply piloted
by it

& dance
with the line
that reels me,
in whatever direction
I am spun with it,
knowing you are
what turns me

& also certain
when I dream tonight in colors
it will be of you

Posted in New Free Verse | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

Kreativ Blogger Award

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

Yay!  Someone out there likes me (my very poor Sally Field impression).  I have been nominated by Jill of all Trades for the Kreativ Blogger award, and I am happy to accept.

Now for the good stuff.

Reveal 7 unknown facts about yourself:

  1. I raise Siamese cats.
  2. I have been known to play poker once in a while, and come home with money in my pocket; sometimes more than I left with.
  3. I grow my own herbs.
  4. I didn’t get my driving licence until I was—gasp–28.  Didn’t need one until I moved to the middle of nowhere.
  5. I have had past careers in IT and health care, and decided to stay home and care for my daughter instead of getting another IT job that would consume all my time.  So, I have been a medical editor and transcriptionist for 11 years, working in my pajamas most of the time, with a zero-carbon-footprint job.
  6. Considering going back to school (for the fourth time!) to pursue a career in social work.
  7. I am a hopeless romantic–wait, you already know that if you read my blog!

Nominate 7 others for these awards:

Don Carroll for his wonderful, grainy poetry.

Jenny Kissed Me for her gorgeous poetry that transports you elsewhere.

Brain in a Jar for Ian Moore’s acerbic wit and tight poetry.

Mari Sanchez Caruso for her poetry, images, music, etc.

Rich at Brainsnorts for his poetry, short stories–well, really a bit of everything for everyone!

Rhonda at Help Me Rhonda, because her photos are fantastic, and her commentary both thought-provoking and fun.

Francesca Zelnick for her purely beautiful work.

Posted in New Free Verse | 8 Comments