WarmFuzzy – JUST JOAN 42

WHEN IN ROME, DO AS THE NEW YORKERS DO

October 15, 2017October 14, 2017Just Joan21 Comments

Hubs and I spent a year in Rome. Rome, New York. It’s upstate, where winters are long and cold and snowy. Our rental house was four floors: full basement, first story, second story, and full attic, square footage that costs a fortune to heat. To save money, we decided we’d tough it out and not turn the furnace on until November 1. Such an idea might pass for reasonable in Ohio, but up there, it means watching TV in long johns and a sweater. Under a winter coat. Wearing mittens. I became passionate about baking, a good reason to turn on the oven and linger in the kitchen. Precision tasks like knitting or carving a pumpkin had to be done a bit at a time so I could stuff my hands in my pockets or wrap them around a mug of hot tea to restore flexibility. Somehow, we did it, and the memories flood back every autumn when I turn the furnace on, wrinkling my nose at the dusty-stagnant air rising from the vents.

Last year, the furnace went wonky on us. It would run one cycle (five minutes), then quit. It wasn’t the pilot light, so we did the only other thing we know to do: turn off the power, wait a couple minutes, and turn it back on. I’m told it resets the circuit board, similar to rebooting
a balky computer. When that repeatedly failed, we called “THE GUY.” Between diagnoses and returning to install parts and troubleshoot, he made seven trips. We were hopeful at the outset, but soon, each new repair was regarded with wariness. Would it work for a day? A week?
A month? Were we going to freeze to death before Mr. HVAC actually got it fixed? The VILLANELLE, with its endless loop of repeating lines, seemed the perfect vehicle to drive this story home:

FURNACE VILLANELLE

My furnace has an intermittent glitch
And inexplicably, the heat goes out
I toggle off and on the power switch

the sole maneuver in my bag of tricks
I call the man and say, without a doubt
My furnace has an intermittent glitch

He reassures me HVAC is his niche
and pencils me onto tomorrow’s route
I toggle once again the power switch

Hot air escapes the vent, a little titch
The motor cycles once, then peters out
My furnace has an intermittent glitch

Qualified to sort out what from which,
the man returns with toolbox, skills, and clout
replaces flame inducer, pressure switch

unblocks a drain, addresses every hitch
It runs like new a month or thereabout,
then crashes from an intermittent glitch
I toggle off and on the power switch

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A BASKET OF PEACHES

September 10, 2017September 10, 2017Just Joan28 Comments

Whew! It has been a really busy week!
Hubby’s birthday
Our 29th anniversary
The neighborhood block party
A doctor’s appointment
Scheduling other appointments spawned by that appointment
Pursuing an idea for a new writing project
And on top of all that, we’ve added a new member to our family:

This is Peaches. As they packed up to move to a new house along the highway, a dangerous situation for their outdoor kitty, our neighbors asked if we would take him. He’s orange, which sealed the deal for me, with amber eyes, Gremlin ears, and a tail that’s fluent in sign language. He is shamelessly affectionate. He likes flannel and canned cat food. His first meeting with the dogs proved him to be lightning-fast, adept at finding hiding spots, and in possession of the most venomous hiss this side of the Mississippi. Once he has visited the vet and recovers from getting snip-snipped, he will be allowed outside again. I’ll post more poetry as soon as I have the time and inspiration to write it.

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POETRY 4220: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

September 3, 2017September 4, 2017Just Joan17 Comments

Friends often ask how I became a poet. Did I write poems as a child? Was I a promising writer in high school? Did I major in Literature or Creative Writing? No, no, and no. I was an architect of wooden blocks and Tinkertoys as a kid. My Senior English teacher (and ACT) indicated that language was my weakest subject. I did not begin my writing life
in earnest until I retired from nursing in autumn 2014. Due to budget constraints, offerings at the local university were limited. Poetry was the only writing class available and I grudgingly agreed to give it a try.

The first assignment had me in a dither: “With This Is Just To Say in mind, write a short poem based on something mundane.” Like what? Dust? Chicken noodle soup? My life? A mere two feet away, Froggie hung from my pencil jar sending an urgent psychic message, Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me! He’d cost $1.99 at a Maine gift shop called The 45th Parallel. He’s small, olive green, and has hooked front legs that allow him to hang from things. A couple weeks after I got Froggie, hubby kidnapped him from my desk and hid him. I found him hanging on the edge of a bowl in the kitchen cupboard, a fun surprise. So I hid him for hubby to find, peeking out from a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom cabinet. Moving him around became our little “I love you” game. On several occasions, Froggie got knocked off his perch and broke a leg, but each time, we mended him with a few drops of Super Glue and the game continued. Froggie became the subject of my (very mundane) poem, which was returned to me marked “Purely delightful!” I will be forever grateful to my teacher for not writing, “Yikes! Is Dr. Seuss on the loose?” which would have stopped me in my tracks.

ODE TO SUPER GLUE

My ceramic frog
is a great little token
of our Maine vacation
and that’s no jokin’

He fell a few times
and has two legs broken
but with a bit of Super Glue,
he keeps on croakin’

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IT’S GETTING KINDA DEEP IN HERE…

April 23, 2017April 22, 2017Just Joan15 Comments

Yesterday, we celebrated Earth Day and today, I’m due to introduce a new type of poem, so I’m aiming to score two goals with a single tool. Dig it? The “GOLDEN SHOVEL” sounds like a gardening award but is actually a contemporary poetic form created by Terrance Hayes. And
a clever way to pay homage to a favorite poet. Here are the rules:

1. Borrow a line from a poem you admire.
2. Use the words of the borrowed line as the end words of your lines.
3. Keep the end words in order.
4. Give credit to the poet you borrowed from.

NOTE: Your poem need not be about the same subject as the original

MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH*

He is there for me every
single minute of the day
Even in the bathroom, I
am never alone, you see,
he provides company or
protection or whatever I
require as if he can hear
my thoughts, something
he does with an ease that
mystifies. But he is more;
my soulmate perhaps, or
a shrink who charges less
and really listens. He kills
me with hilarity, slays me
with tricks, fells me with
love, buries me in delight

*A Golden Shovel from Mindful by Mary Oliver

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WHEN ONE ART BEGETS ANOTHER

April 9, 2017April 10, 2017Just Joan19 Comments

In my little village, art is highly valued and might be found anywhere. Years ago, the painting below was on display at our local pizza parlor, part of a small art show. Something about it spoke to me, and it was inexpensive, so I bought it. I later learned the artist was a student in junior high. It was the first piece she’d ever sold and she was elated. Knowing that made it positively priceless. To this day, that dandelion painting hangs above my desk, a testament to everyday beauty and a reminder that it’s never too early (or late) to indulge the creative self.

So I chose to make it the subject of an EKPHRASTIC poem. These are vivid descriptions inspired or stimulated by a work of art, most often a painting or sculpture. Additionally, the poet may use her imagination
to narrate, reflect, or otherwise amplify or expand upon its meaning.

TUFTS OF FLUFF

drift over the border
of a square blue world
devoid of breeze,
remaining aloft
on the singular power
of a fervent wish

Riding high on
the hopes and dreams
of a fledgling artist
whose stiff brush
dances across
her canvas trampoline

Amateur fingers
tracing the wild shape
of serendipity
visible only
to audacious believers
willing to imagine it

Here is another, a “wishful” triolet from last fall:

YELLOW SPRING

A dandelion gone to seed
can color spring with yellow
Packaged cleverly, indeed
A dandelion gone to seed
Make a wish and set it free
Aloft and soft and mellow
A dandelion gone to seed
can color spring with yellow

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WHAT’S THE CATCH?

April 2, 2017April 2, 2017Just Joan24 Comments

Just Joan features yet another new form this week. This one is rather gimmicky, and as such, presented a colossal challenge. Read the poem slowly and carefully. See if you can figure out what is special about it.

AFTERNOON NAPS

Spent, pate to toe,
far past espresso,
of a state apropos
for a nap

Afternoon frees one
to tap open season,
to reap for no reason
a nap

Star operator
of a potent sonar
senses fortress not far
for a nap

Sofas possess
apt erasers of stress
or so patrons attest:
Naps, naps, naps!

No opposer, no foe,
no trespasser – presto!
A safe spot for repose,
for a nap

A soft, serene nest
for a soporate rest,
or a profane snore-fest,
for a nap

Naps appease, naps sate
Naps restore, naps penetrate
Naps ease a tense state
Naps rate!

So snare a transport
free of fare, sans passport
to a far-off resort:
Port O’Nap

Give up? “Afternoon Naps” is an ANAGRAMMATIC poem. In this form, all of the words in the poem are constructed from a given set of letters, in this case, those in the poem’s title. I allowed myself unlimited use of the sanctioned letters in each word, but no other leeway. Point of the exercise? Cutting out two-thirds of the alphabet might slow a poet down, but it will not stop her. Somehow, she will still find a way.

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CASCADING THROUGH AUTUMN

November 1, 2016November 1, 2016Just Joan14 Comments

Cascade is a form of poetry in which all the lines from the first stanza (usually a tercet or a quatrain) are repeated, in order, as the final lines of the subsequent stanzas. Beyond the repetition of these lines, the form imposes no rules. Happy November, everyone!