Awaken Shaken
By John R. Greenwood
Swallowing hard, pains like a pine-branch
caught halfway down
Sweaty shivers and throbbing temples bring back
memories of school days missed long ago
Peeled back blankets reveal hesitant bodies and
wobbly legs whimpering to return
Ice filled ginger-ale glass soothes a
crusty fire-coated throat
Returning to bed I curl up and burrow deep like a
winter-ready black bear
J.R.G.11.7.10
Look Up
By John R. Greenwood
I wrote this poem minutes after my
pre-coffee hunting trip
in search of the elusive newspaper.
I pause for a moment and look up.
Autumn sky
Moonlit and quiet
Star-speckled and fresh
Injected with train sounds
Chugging strong in the distance
Cars pass slowly
Their lights spraying
Naked maples and
Scant oaks with
Left over leaves
Desperately clinging on
The smell of fall
Falling away with
Winter whispering
In the hills
Not so far away
I stop and stare
Neck tilted back
Like an old-man Pez dispenser
I soak it in
Lung, sight, and mind
Take the time
To look up
J.R.G.10.28.10
Porch Peace
By John R.Greenwood
Each porch step up
A story to tell
Of lives and loves from
The world that surrounds
Friends stop by and whisper
Did you know? Did you hear?
Porch simple moments
Unchanged through the years
The neighbor's new Chevy
A lost wallet is found
An upcoming wedding
The old barn that burned down
Boys perched on railings
Swinging their feet
Dad hikes up his work pants
That droop in the heat
On the paint worn top step
Giggling girls squished together
As if joined at the hip
Like birds of a feather
Women in blue dresses
Red petunias in clay pots
Babies in playpens
Sleeping or not
Visions of porches
Today or yet to be
Provide a little haven
That's safe for you and me
I wrote this poem for "Porch Pieces" - Artist Bryony Graham's living sculpture.
J.R.G.9.11.10
