I began writing poetry in college in a creative writing class. After college my writing lay dormant for several years while I raised my family. It came to life again after I came out to my family and friends when I was 37. Coming out seemed to release my creative self and I became a more active writer. I've never been a prolific poet, nor a very disciplined one. I let the poem emerge and have always tried to let it arrive in its own time. The subjects of my poetry centers mainly around nature, human relationships and spirituality. I also write haiku in keeping with my connection to nature and Zen Buddhism.
The Oneness of Eternal Water
Hokusai’s wave Stands still in time, Each tiny drop perceived, Its foamy edges clear, Far off Mt Fuji Fixing its location, That single wave That certain day. Hokusai’s wave Has been around the world One hundred thousand million times And touched the shores Of every land with bordered shores. From beginningless time Hokusai’s wave’s been drawn to heaven And joined the procession Of clouds that drift and sail Across deserts,
Poetry
May 2017
Gypsy Heart
Home is where the heart is, the saying goes. I bow to my gypsy heart And the many places I have loved. I. Oklahoma I was a child here, Feeling the way only children can– Learning what children learn– All life around me mysterious– In touch with my senses Of touch, smell, taste, sound. Pictures petrified with companion feelings Remain. Storms turning the mid-day skies to black Send us running
Poetry
May 2017
Renewal
In our garden, Grown over From years of inattention, We find what’s there And work to set it free. Here’s a holly bush, Strangling From the death grip Of a honeysuckle vine. Under the cherry tree A rock garden emerges From beneath the grasses And fallen twigs. Out back we hang The rusty metal treasures We’ve uncovered. Chains, pieces of gates and boats, Weathered garden tools And buckets. An old
Poetry
May 2017
Jan McMillan
I began writing poetry in college in a creative writing class. After college my writing lay dormant for several years while I raised my family. It came to life again after I came out to my family and friends when I was 37. Coming out seemed to release my creative self and I became a more active writer. I've never been a prolific poet, nor a very disciplined one. I let the poem emerge and have always tried to let it arrive in its own time. The subjects of my poetry centers mainly around nature, human relationships and spirituality. I also write haiku in keeping with my connection to nature and Zen Buddhism.
The Oneness of Eternal Water
Hokusai’s wave Stands still in time, Each tiny drop perceived, Its foamy edges clear, Far off Mt Fuji Fixing its location, That single wave That certain day. Hokusai’s wave Has been around the world One hundred thousand million times And touched the shores Of every land with bordered shores. From beginningless time Hokusai’s wave’s been drawn to heaven And joined the procession Of clouds that drift and sail Across deserts,
Poetry
May 2017
Gypsy Heart
Home is where the heart is, the saying goes. I bow to my gypsy heart And the many places I have loved. I. Oklahoma I was a child here, Feeling the way only children can– Learning what children learn– All life around me mysterious– In touch with my senses Of touch, smell, taste, sound. Pictures petrified with companion feelings Remain. Storms turning the mid-day skies to black Send us running
Poetry
May 2017
Renewal
In our garden, Grown over From years of inattention, We find what’s there And work to set it free. Here’s a holly bush, Strangling From the death grip Of a honeysuckle vine. Under the cherry tree A rock garden emerges From beneath the grasses And fallen twigs. Out back we hang The rusty metal treasures We’ve uncovered. Chains, pieces of gates and boats, Weathered garden tools And buckets. An old
Poetry
May 2017