the smallest hole
in the ice
of a dense winter
~
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
© J H. White
Category Archives: Poetry
Microbes
Apparently our own bodies are small walking planets…or verdant jungles or distinctive arboretums. Really… Newest scientific findings show we have an estimated ten times more microbes than human cells in our own bodies. We are all teaming with unique colonies of microbes living symbiotically. Continue reading
The deep
~
small rusted tacks 
holding my toughened skin
to bone
to muscle
like pictures cut from a magazine
pinned to the wall
~
I’ve given up looking for saviors,
no messengers with bright news.
~
I see only inside
this heart
cocooned
deep
in the warm darkness
listening to the words spun
from the silk of the stories
we’ve given wings.
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/striatic/133146861/”>striatic</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>cc</a>
Night mirrors
In my winter dreams
I look for seeds that have curled up in dry dark corners
caught there when the floods washed through.
I pull away the broken limbs and detritus that collect
and watch the seeds that float to the surface
~
Like mirrors end to end
they shift and turn
reflecting the barbed light of other suns.
Birthing memories.
The only heat sometimes is in memory
passing through the heat of the wound.
~
I wake from these dreams disconnected
I have instinctively stretched out in time.
~
Deep in the night
no birds singing yet
waiting for light.
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Footprint…
naked
impressed
open to skies
deep in the left heel
tender
I don’t need to follow you
I can see where you’ve been
in the waves
with their tongues of silver
”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’
””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliotmoore/45457311/”>Elliot Moore</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>cc</a>
Opening
Mountain
that yearns
to be a flower
learns
the ephemeral language
of
beginnings
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””'”””””””””””””””””””””””
”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Painting by © J H White
Seeing you is seeing me
Twice a month I meet for a few hours with four other women. Our friendship has a history as neighbors, fellow artists, some mothers, a few grandmothers, some wives, some ex-wives…it’s a toss up but we share artistic enthusiasms. Our lives are busy and we may not see each other as often as we’d like in any of these roles. But every other week we make time in our schedules to get together. We’ve all said that this time spent together is essential to each of us. For these particular meetings we’ve come to listen deeply to each other. Continue reading
Tick – Tock
Fractals fascinate me. This one is reminiscent of an old world map… but on some distant planet where the sea forms geometric plates that continually shift and reconfigure according to this planets three moons and the land spews forth in continual eruptive engagement.
It’s in the eye of the beholder. The middle form might be a river enraged and snaking through carefully groomed farm land. But not today…
Maps
I’m not
frozen in this moment…
My memory is as old as stone.
Relative to the rhythm of a tap dance
it is entertaining
but no longer of use
for direction.
I am
entangled
in the estrangement of local weeds
the cadence of direct deposit
the allegiance of filtered water
the geometry of home.
There must be
a more reliable guideline
in chaos
I tell myself…
I’ve worked hard to lose
the map of my soul.
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindenbaum/392018531/”>tlindenbaum</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/”>cc</a>
Neon New Year
Facing the window overlooking the garden
I am blindfolded,
a veil over my eyes.
Taken into this darkest of rooms, I wonder
If I am blindfolded…how am I seeing in this darkness?
My heart has been opened Continue reading
The Poetics of Light 