Power Issue 2012 Jo Lee - JO LEE Magazine

INDULGENCES
The Poet’s Corner
By Dr. Margaret R. O’Keeffe Umanzio, Sally
Anne Reisner & Vera Resnik
Photography By Vera Resnik
Florida / New Jersey
Monsters
Monsters exist, so I have been told
expert authority of one three-year-old.
Monsters hide in closets, sometimes in drawers and under
beds.
And don’t need meds.
Monsters sneak, prowl in attics, basements
waiting in far away corners.
Never in pairs for they are loners.
Monsters are ugly, creepy, big as in ten feet tall
forming shadows in the hall.
Monsters don’t like yucky broccoli or shots
Ice cream and candy they eat lots.
Monsters, nighttime explorers, travel through windows,
give quite a fright.
They never visit mommy or daddy’s room.
They are too busy to zip and zoom till noon.
Monsters, monsters,
they are everywhere.
Never talk, make noise, smile, are silly, like light or play.
But always remember to stay and never go away.
©Veraresnik
Robin Redbreast
Each spring we await your arrival.
It’s been four years since you built
your nest in our front porch rafters.
We bring out the wicker chairs and
notice new twigs have been added;
you’re preparing for your brood.
We sip our morning coffee watching
you sitting on your eggs. Two weeks pass.
One evening over wine and cheese
we see tiny heads bobbing out above the nest.
We count them: three!
Fully feathered in ten days, the babies are
seldom left alone; you and your mate are busy
feeding and guarding. We watch you cock your heads,
keeping track of us on the porch and the worms
in the grass.
One day I step outside to find a speckled chubby
robin out of the nest, a toddler walking the rafter.
In an instant it flies into the trees.
What about the other two?
I don’t want them to leave.
©Sallyanne
Hands
Calm, strong, focused hands
Hands that knead and shape clay into exquisite expressions
of beauty
Hands that rhythmically guide water to bring forth new life
hidden in our garden
Hands that race with pen to paper to reveal the deepest
feelings within his heart
Hands that gently and lightly massage the kitten’s furry chin
Hands that cradle my hands
Hands that say, “I love you, love me back”
Beautiful, loving, magical hands of life.
©margaretumanzio
Jo Lee Power 2012 21