Poetry by Jeannie E. Roberts

Mayastar CC




Spirit Danced When She Created Her Next Best Thing

—for children, and all, who are labeled odd, aloof, or different 


downpour-days ran barefoot 
through river of alleys
laughed / stomped
splashed childhood before her eyes
where youth echoed 
Etch A Sketch turns / shakes
Play-Doh shaped birds / mermaids
Slinky stretch-and-re-form-itself romp
down the upstairs steps
where pixie cut tossed 
on backyard swing / purple tricycle
peddled by girl anxious to create 
her next best thing 
in art / song / word 
as she fashioned her way 
into adulthood / applied her muse 
through years of downpour-days
where loss left her barely treading water 
yet / she remained buoyant / persevered
splashed creativity 
toward harsh winds / mild breezes
across the collective of climates 
that shape humanity
where spirit danced 
altered internal weather 
illuminated life 
when she created 
her next best thing





Working Titles of Poems That Became the Poem


Before He Died, Sage Offerings
Matthew 7:6
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Don’t Fall for It, a Cautionary Tale
Clearing Trauma, Gifts That Heal, Honor, and Soften Your Path
Woman in Restoration
Releasing Layers, Returning to the You in You
They Were All Seeds for Growing a Garden of Wisdom
It’s Raining Today and I’m Watching a Tapestry of Hands
Gone Missing in a Landscape of Pews
She Asked Me Where I Found My Peace
Walking in Meadows Near Ribbons of Light
When the House Is Quiet the Words Come
Write It Down
A Family of Voices
As Long as She Can Remember She Crossed State Lines
The Bridge That Crosses, the Sign That Welcomes
Internal Reckoning
An Artist Counts Her Teeth
Lotus Drank, Sipped from Waters Pooled in Devotion
Love, Praise, Forgive, Repeat

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Jeannie E. Roberts has authored six books, including The Wingspan of Things (Dancing Girl Press, 2017), Romp and Ceremony (Finishing Line Press, 2017), Beyond Bulrush (Lit Fest Press, 2015), and Nature of it All (Finishing Line Press, 2013). In 2019, her second children's book, Rhyme the Roost! A Collection of Poems and Paintings for Children, was released by Daffydowndilly Press, an imprint of Kelsay Books. She is poetry editor of the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs. When she’s not reading, writing, or editing, you can find her drawing and painting, or outdoors photographing her natural surroundings. For more, please visit www.jrcreative.biz.

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