poetry

9-4-20 WHEN IN DOUBT, TURN TO JOSEPH CAMPBELL

You’ve dragged me into
A cave I fear
Yet the treasures I crave
Await me there

Always a mind-bender

To contemplate Joseph Campbell

And his Hero’s Journey

Cetus means whale

And once again I think how I am stuck

In the Belly of the whale

In a metaphorical

Campbell way

I suspect there are zero whales

Cruising thru the Gulf of Mexico

So my best view of a whale

Is in the night sky

Where Cetus patrols

The sea of the water constellations

Named by Ptolemy

But everyone knows

Aquarius is an Air sign

Despite being the Water Bearer

Important to know

If you’re into elemental characteristics

Supposedly,

The Sun passed through the sky

During the Rainy Season

And that’s why that area

Resembles a watery place

But I never knew outer space

Had seasons

The Florida joke is

We have two:

Summer and Hot

Anyway, lately,

So much rain

That even the frogs are seeking shelter

In my cave of a trailer

Diphda is the Arabic word

For frog

Diphda is also a star

AKA Beta Ceti

Brightest in the Cetus constellation

I layer all this scientific

All this mythic

Information

For your edification

But what is my point?

Well, who knows?

That’s why I’m squatting

In my cave

Hermit of the stars

In this time of prison bars

To stay safe from germs and

Worms of doubt

Trying to make sense

Out of events

And when I do

You’ll be the first to know

Hang in there with me…

© 2020 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)

IMAGE:  Cetus Constellation from Urania’s Mirror & Midnight Frog

8-31-2020 BLACK TEA: LAPSANG SOUCHONG

Standing in the dark
Midnight mist tangled
In silver moonlight
Splashing across my
Pale, anxious face
Eyes searching swamp edges
Waiting for you
Smoky Souchong
Sloshing in cups
Bamboo and pine fires
Give scent the power
To evoke Russian caravans
Carrying precious tea leaves
To far-flung Florida
Eagerly sipping
The potent brew
No Shakespearean witch
Could conjure in her cauldron
On the darkest night
Caffeine calms me
And I hear years of
Piled Live Oak leaves
Crackling on compacted sand
Recognizing your step
In anticipation of the tea
With its own sensuality…

© 2020 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Russian Caravan tea

8-29-20 WOLFSBANE (Aconitum napellus)

Harry Potter’s Wolfsbane used for lycanthropy
Personally, I use it for homeopathy
What better healing than a remedy
Derived from geochemistry
A little poison is actually therapy
And although people love or hate this specialty
I hoard meds of Aconitum napellus desperately
In this year of pain and disease that allegedly
Is not worth fighting independently

So I swallow Wolfsbane
For flu, virus, and pain
Purple-blue magical strain
Believe me, I’m not insane
Homeopathy works although arcane
And as I heal in the main
Extra insurance that I never became
A Werewolf of moonlight fame
Although as a dog-lover, they are my favorite monsters…

© 2020 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGES: Wolfsbane & some homeopathic meds

homeopathic meds

8-25-20 HAND PRINTS (REVISED FROM 2018)

Grimoire
Magic spell book
But aren’t most books
Enticingly magical?
Most writers want to
Weave a spell
Enchant the reader
An alphabet put together
Interpreting the
Arcane codes
True, some are more
Grimoire-y than others
But the hope is always the same
Book of Shadows
For memories to reclaim

Anyone could make a
Physical book
Cutting, pasting
Dreaming
Mine contains words
Pictures
Photos
And amulets in drawstring pouches
What will you make?
It is the book that will
Define your legacy
The hand prints on
The door of our universe
Saying, “I WAS HERE”

(AIR)

I took a trip
To learn why
Writers stifle colors
And artists go for blank
Turned the page
Explaining how to fly
Instructions specific
For a heady trip
Here was I
Looping through the sky
Thought I’d die
Scared to be so high
But relaxed into the rhythm
Balancing on the cold
Atmospheric road
Where the night sky
Anchors us to life
But the silver cord tugged
And back I fluttered
Merely a feather
Drifting onto my bed

(WATER)

Another lonely night
Riffling through pages
Scanning the list
Of Love Potions
Devastated from rejection
Needed him back
But would I want him
Under magical circumstances?
No, I want real love
Equal partnership
No controlling
No binding
Free choice
As I expect it for me
So I rejected that conjuration
For whomever needed to put
General love into their life
And splashed through the
Outgoing tides
Searching for the Sea Henge
Upside down tree of life
Teach me, I breathed
How to survive
Alone

(EARTH)

Sick next day but not in bed
Probably sadness put it in my head
Sat shivering over my Grimoire
And there
In plain English
Well, mostly
Was the Ena Drab Farmeko*
Nine-herb charm
The secret cure
In my backyard
Or in fields and forests
Swamps and even health food stores
Found bits and pieces of the herbs
Stirred, sieved, suffused
Sipped, slept
Earth’s magic
Strengthening my resolve
To evolve into
A perfect balance
Of marbleized black and white
A swirling mixture
Of Yin and Yang
As my voice sang out
In harmony

(FIRE)

Oh, the spirit
Belief, relief
In caring about the world
And all contributing to
The Buzz
Of a vibrant planet
Paper, wood
Instant campfire
Envy of embers
Help us see
Each other as real
Blazing through the dark
Bright, straight, strong
But alone
Hoping it will smoulder
Giving the cold heat shoulder
Resentful hot hatred
Scorches, sears, singes
In order to extinguish
A lone flame
What price incandescence…

(c) 2018 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: My Grimoire

*ENA DRAB FARMEKO (for those interested in simple herbs)

ENA DRAB FARMEKO (NINE-HERB CHARM)

8-22-20 SACRED MARRIAGE

Double your pleasure
Double your fun
With Laura and Marco
On the run

Two selfish lovers
On a course of destruction
Altering weather history
In a tempting seduction

Weather paths meaningless
With that much force
What chance the Gulf States
From the coming intercourse

So to Mexico, Mississippi, Alabama
Texas, Louisiana, and Florida too
Inhale and hold your breath
We’re news for the world view

Just makes me wonder
Why there is so much fuss
About politics and face masks
When all is superfluous

Wishing us all strength
As we step into warrior mode
Recognizing space and time
As the ultimate crossroad

Safety to us all…

© 2020 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Laura & Marco

8-17-20 MORNING

Most mornings
Jack-in-the-box
Out of bed
So sure today
Is the adventure
I’ve awaited
My entire life
Day wears on
But I do not despair
I’m aware
Tomorrow is another chance
For fame, fortune or romance
To fulfill my fanciful dreams

But now body and mind
Won’t let me find
The magic of life
Pandemics
Anarchy
Politics
Poverty
New label called
“Elderly”
Hide behind my smiling mask
In reality
I’m mentally
In a fetal position
On the floor
Clutching my blankey
Wishing it would all go away

So far it is temporary
Self-curing when
I stop reading the news
Play my concertina and ukulele
Write to friends and family
Spoil my dogs
Enter new worlds
Through games or books
And all is right with my world
The Magic returns
And I try to remember
That I am a connoisseur
Of alternate but happy
Life creations…

© 2020 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Pineapple Magic

8-14-20 ONLY THE MOON

Only the Moon
Can translate
Words from me
Like the tides
It tries
To draw out
From lips and pen
What really needs to be said
But speaking, writing
The true plateau
Defies me and many
ASD’s*
Words tumble about
Defying gravity
Leaving out
Important meanings
Making us so misunderstood
But the Moon is patient
If only you learned from
The Moon…

*ASD = Autism Spectrum Disorder

© 2020 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Shon/Moon

8-11-20 ON SEEING THE PERSEIDS

Perseids like a jolt of adrenaline
Ripping across the crowded sky
I am lost without my map
But I gaze at the stars
Absent-mindedly plunking my guitar
Munching on crackers, cream cheese
And cheap caviar
Here at 28° 14′ 38″ N / 82° 43′ 9″ W
A mere few miles from the Gulf’s sandbars
Musical waves with the
Melody of twin sitars
So I gaze at the sky
Mapless
Clueless
Stars like exotic bazaars
Each one offering a new evolution
Each birthed from a quasar
And I remember to be careful
In the night
Because like the stars
It is often safer to
Avoid black holes and other strangers…

© 2020 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Star Chart (Earth & Sky)