NOT JESSICA

*scroll down for a YouTube video*

Often think of the Allman Brothers’ song

Jessica

Don’t know

If this is so

But sometimes imagination

Is better than the

Google answer

To me

I see

A young woman

Short cut-offs

Halter

Barefoot

Long, straight hair

(yeah, mine is curly, ugh)

And she is as welcome as Spring

Uncomplicated

Lovely

Desirable

The song IS Jessica

So attempted one about you

But oh

Five different

Almost discordant

Songs appeared

You’re that layered

Peel away one skin

To find another

What is the vision

From the music of your soul

As I hear it?

One billion parts

Make up the whole…

 

(c) 2018 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)

IMAGE: Playing with the stars

*youtube video Jessica, Allman Brothers
https://youtu.be/yRDivUb5EeA

XERISCAPING POETRY (A WILD MELLOWING)

FINALLY! MY NEW BOOK!
After 10 drafts and the invention of incredible swear words aimed at Windows 10, HP Laptops, and Microsoft Word (that I paid for but still had intrusive ads to  dodge)  I uploaded my 10th poetry book. If you follow me, you have probably read all the poems for free on FB, GR, TW and WP but in case you are interested, here is the link for the Kindle edition. The paperback will need a lot of formatting and that will probably entail another 10 drafts

 

PANDORA’S MORE FORTUNATE DAUGHTER

Working

Mothering

All the usuals

Happiness

Sadness

All the emotions

The real me

Kept boxed up

Until one day

Retirement

What to do?

Collection of boxes

Containing nothing but

Sparkly dust

Poured a bit into my palm

A sonnet appeared

Oh, sure, not Shakespeare-worthy

But each day it grew

Until there were twenty-two

One for each symbol

Of the Major Arcana

Then there were twelve

Terza Rima

For each Zodiac sign

And each box

Had its own lines

Until there was a

Rima Royale

Of birds

And a tiny box of Haiku

Slightly larger box of Tanka

But in a special box

Of the loveliest cloisonne

Shone silver Moon dust

Mixed with golden Sunlight

And Stars of blue and every hue

They whirled above me

Then gently drizzled down

Covering my head, lips, shoulders

And as I grew older

I became bolder

Free

Free at last

Poetry that had no use for rhyme

Stream-of-consciousness

Confessional

Memoirs

Gutter talk

A touch of erotica

Words made up

Words spilling from a box

Filling ten books

Of words hidden inside

For decades

The real me

Then one day

Those magical boxes

Were empty

I’d open the lids

In the three A.M. shadows

Whispering, “Where’d you go?”

So, I bought more boxes

My collection growing

And one cloudy morning

Something sang out

From a new box

And there

As I hastily opened the lock

Was a different dust

Sparkling? Not quite

Sparking!

Like electricity

And poetry melded

With musical chords

And songs were born

Euterpe with her magic flute

Pushed open the lids

Danced with her sister

Terpsichore

And I wrote

And strummed

And sang

And hummed

But I see

The magical dust

In my box collection

Is once again disappearing

And so I say

Today is the day

I shop for a new box

And begin an unknown

Collection…

(c) 2018 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)

IMAGE: Some of my magic boxes

A BIT OF A BREAK

Well, I finally feel the need for a little break from Social Media.  I am so appreciative of everyone’s comments and likes but find I can no longer keep up.  So I’ve removed the comments section (thank you, Denise, for your help!) but not sure if that also includes “like.”  I may post occasionally and I definitely will keep track of my Reader because one of the fun things in life is reading good writing and EVERY ONE of my followers and those I follow are exceptional!

Don’t know how long this will last.  I already feel a bit lost at the thought of not communicating with you.  Although I no longer scroll on Facebook, I do check messages.  My FB page is public, anyone can post or message me.  I can’t keep up with Twitter so that may not work.  But here are my two email addresses.  I always check my main one at least one thousand times a day 🙂  Please feel free to keep in touch.

Thank you, and hopefully I will be back!

Clarissa (Simmens)

drabarni1@gmail.com

poeturja@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/RomaniGypsyBooks/

 

BAXT (LUCK) ZEROING IN

On this New Year’s Day

I will provide

A fragile parchment map

Fail-safe guide

For Nevo Bersh Baxt

Roaming a sky

Lit in fire-crackered smoke

My coordinates:

Northern Hemisphere

Eastern US Coast

Southern Region

Western Peninsula

Dear New Year’s Luck

Zero in on me

And my friends and family

Midnight Major Arcana reading

Without cards

Just generated random numbers

Too old for meaningful predictions

I mean,

Who needs to see

Death-Devil-Destruction

Although the true meanings are

Transformation

Temptation

Insight

And there it is

Number 10

Wheel of Fortune

So as a Southerner

For the last quarter century or more

I lovingly prepare

The lucky dinner

Black-eye peas

Collard greens

“Alternate” protein and

Corn bread stuffed with

Poblano and honey

Let this be a

Healthy year

Strong year

Intelligent year

Sweet year

Bring to me and mine

Zero in on a straight line

X marks the spot on my roof

For you, dear good Fortune

To sprinkle a myriad of

2018 blessings…

(c) 2018 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)

IMAGE: My lucky New Year dinner

HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!  Sorry, have not kept up with WordPress comments and likes.  Feel so overwhelmed.  Just know that I’ll soon be back on track but I think of you all and wish you health and happiness…