On a Chilled Wind
Winter comes to tell us to be still,
to stand and look out windows
onto landscapes scrubbed barren
by winds that scrape away the excess,
to watch snow laid down piece by piece
on the smallest twig
as scraps of the discarded, imperfections,
are gently smoothed into graceful curves
by chills that tingle toes, crisp ears,
push us back into places
where blankets and warm drinks
invite us to sit down.
What Once Was
An old photograph,
a startling scent,
a hesitant moment
of almost recognition
draws my finger tips
to the shallow pool
of that other time,
and it’s colder
than I remember,
the liquid clutches,
pulls to stay with me
for a moment,
loses its grip and falls,
sending ripples
through the memory
of the me that once was
who knew the you
that no longer exists.
there is a place
there is a place between
awake and conscious
that is not easily torn
a place encircling
intent and movement
that clings to stillness
a place connecting
forgiving and forgetting
that slips thoughts
where we get caught
in the light of dead stars
thawing
the first sighing movements
heralding a breeze,
yielding of the night’s
warbling notes
as winter’s first tear lets go,
brush of a reach
in the womb,
sparrow caught
in an updraft,
until a waver
brings a chance
and we can, for a grasp,
feel the earth rolling
Poetry is Jamie Lynn Heller’s caffeine. She is a mother, wife, and high school counselor who gets up before the house starts to stir to write. She has pieces published or accepted at Prairie Schooner, Tule Review, The Main Street Rag, Noctua Review, Gargoyle, Earth’s Daughters, Flint Hills Review, I-70 review, Avocet, Storyteller Magazine, Little Balkans Review, Wilderness House Literary Review, Diversion Press, KC Voices Magazine, KC Parent Magazine, The Whirlybird Anthology of Kansas City Writers, and many others.
