kite flying weather

So this is my attempt to throw a bone for some complainers and Facebook haters out there (*ahem, Danny). Posting pics will cost me money though, so only literary things will be posted here. Without further ado:

Kite Flying Weather

by Joann Renee

I forgot myself

for a moment:

wrote in cursive

peeled daisies

blew zerberts at children

glanced up at a shop

window to see

a familiar face wearing

a dazed expression and my

sunglasses. Stop.

Rewind.

This is what

people see:

amber hair

thin eyebrows

widow’s peak

laughing lips.

It’s just packaging.

How intriguing that this

case should house

me. Minutes pass:

self-awareness fades as

shards of revelation pierce

sun-freckled skin and I

self-collapse into unbroken oblivion

reviving, with a smile and

blissful silent swears,

only when light flickers:

zebra shadows crossing

the bridge separating

your state from mine.

where have i gone?

Good question.

This post is in response to my dear friend Cassie's request for a new post. I ran out of free photo space on blogger and am almost out of it on flickr. My solution was to take a blogging sabbatical and re-assess my blogging desires. During my time away, I discovered that facebook works just as well, without running out of space for my photos.

In conclusion, if you'd like to catch up on my writing and photography, become my friend on facebook and you will instantly gain access through my notes and photos. I will keep this blog open and update randomly in case the time and urge for blogging coincide again at some point in the future and I come back to reclaim my Blogging Queen title. For now, I pass the title officially forward to my sister, Beth, for safe keeping.

photograph

Photograph
by Joann Renee

here gone
in out
tangible memory
sun shade
you me

darkness illuminates most
if not all
nows—the elusive yes
I exist
the present is not
lost fiction

too fast
too often
with no recognition
I’m gone

another breath
another baby cries
another angel gets it’s wings
and another me appears
with a similar song

me you
shade sun
memory tangible
out in
gone here

lock-et

I stand by this title, though I can feel a surge of confusion and dis-like coming at me for it's non-conforming attitude.

Lock-et
by Joann Renee

like a clasp
love
let go

simple
easy
reset the trigger

well-oiled hinges
restore sighs
struggling

fingers grasp
lock it
release

time goes
unwieldy
cumbersome

is it callous
or practice
that brings ease

gliding so
smoothly transitioning
my heart

open close open
creating vacancies
wordlessly

turning rooms over
when it’s occupant clears
out too soon

earl grey

I recently watched a movie that inspired this - well, I'd already begun it and then lost inspiration, but the movie sent me back and made me finish it. Pushy movie!

Earl Grey
by Joann Renee

fog makes me feel more
at ease with my own lack
of clarity
the city commiserates
blanketed in a deep hush
a reprieve from nagging
doubts and fruitless searches
for answers comforted
by the knowledge that nothing
can be solved tonight
I’ll bask in whatever
comfort you afford
I don’t want to see
what light will rob me of
if it’s true
ignorance is bliss
then this grey
fog is rapturous

boxer short design inspiration

I wrote half of this poem and then changed gears and title to complete it. I like it, but will probably tweak it a bit more before I consider it complete.

Boxer Short Design Inspiration
by Joann Renee

they grow, morph
and fade shifting
like silhouettes playing
across the summer ceiling
over my bed at dusk
i am solid, impermeable
and still provoked
like a tomb to escape motion,
petrified over time as activity lost
purpose, reason
and appeal wondering,
as old women discuss circumcision and college
students disregard rules disturbing
the peace with cameras,
whether it’s wisdom
or foolishness to remain
stationary in a fleeting world



ps - I blurred Mr. David, not because I am offended by classic art, but for those who regularly check my blog and weren't braced for Biblical nudity before scrolling down.

i'm still here!

I have many photos and stories to share...mainly of the Narnian persuasion...but it will have to wait for a skotch longer. If you really want to know what I've been so occupied with...go to CYT's website and get tickets to come see Narnia (yes! it's open! and running 'til February 1st!). And so I leave you with this picture from last night's Opening Night Party...pictured with me are Liza Hooper (Dog) and Tessa Pauls (Satyr), both fabulous.

sitting circle

This needs little explanation. So I'll just get on with it then...
I've slightly adjusted this poem, the title & beginning of the last stanza, to change the emphasis from cuddling with a cute toddler to connecting with others - which was my intention initially, but it didn't come out that way with the first draft.

Sitting Circle
by Joann Renee

unaware of pressing
engagements and snowballing
to-dos
he climbs
settling in without words
waiting for, well,
who knows?

resisting the urge to dump
the new contents of my lap
I use the impulse to clear
my mind, pushing out from the center
creating a perimeter
of busy nothings unseated
while he remains

hounds kept at bay howl
dulled by the unintentional force field
working his magic
from the throne of my lap
stay with me, Donny
protect me from the rush
from too much

is this how God keeps
perspective? people
climbing constantly
into His cosmic lap,
no lapse between occupants—
it’s not practical but perhaps
that’s precisely the point

like a global trust building exercise
you climb and I’ll climb—
a circle of lap-sitters
losing details
gaining moments
reminding each other
of each other

narnia

It's coming up! Mark your calendars...visit the website for details and tickets. Tomorrow night is our first act one run through and next Saturday we'll be tacking on the second act just in time to move into the theatre the day after. The fabulous Jon Jacquet fixed up a drab photo of the Pevensie's that I took and turned it into the beautiful poster that is being spread across the greater Portland metro area. Jon also designed the script that's on the official posters (not pictured below, but visible on the website mentioned above).

something’s been stealing eight pound squash from the garden

For the sake of the public, I am post this. About a week ago I posted two poems almost simultaneously on facebook. The one I loved received zero comments and the one I found silly got rave reviews. Many of my faithful blog followers/family have already read and commented, but here it is for the rest of you to enjoy. It just goes to show that an artist often has a quite different view of their work than does the rest of the world. Clearly the rest of the world is wrong. :)


Something’s Been Stealing Eight Pound Squash From the Garden
by Joann Renee

New Year’s Eve
Where did you go?
The dog’s barking
Again

Porch light flashes
Flooding clarity
Across the snow-laden field

There abandoned
Like twin beacons
Side by side
Whispering consolation
Two eight pound squash

Icy ground rejects
Footprints
And the culprit escapes
Again

It can’t last, though
Bear or Coyote

Next time I’ll be ready
Over-Sized Beaver or Mischievous Neighbor

You’ll slip up—leave a clue
Sasquatch or Martian

Your days of Curcurbita Maxima
Collecting are numbered

nested, like russian dolls

Nested, Like Russian Dolls
by Joann Renee

behavior echoes
deeper healing
deeper haunting
imploding ripples

the choice to ask him
to confess
to believe
spiraling backward

where desperation huddles
for value
for comfort
pursuing belonging

tainted motivations
make seeing muddled
dirty nails digging
for buried roots nested
like Russian Dolls
deep below the surface

God bless us, everyone!

Here's a plateful of Christmas bliss for everyone...

Donny looks like he's about to be nabbed by the umbrella.






This is right before he punched me in the eye on his way to leap off of the car on which he was perched (into Grandma's arms...no snow angels...sorry).


Christmas smooches


I had a lot of fun taking pictures through the window. Fun reflections.