Poetry & Photography by Jeannie E. Roberts

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As If the Sea Opened Its Loving Arms for You
  
Did she hit reef, jagged edge? Like ocean, memory
recalls the surf, how it broke her spirit.
 
Still, damage can shift, drift toward healing waters.
She rises in currents of kindness,
 
where human connection streams brighter, higher,
softer. What appears as lean ripple can transform
 
into abundance. There’s fulfillment in splashing
joy, sensitivity, offering words of encouragement.
 
Daily, she walks with empathy, besprinkles balm,
interacts with others — You look lovely today!
 
Seafoam green’s your color. She greets neighbors,
Good Morning, stops to pat dogs, Good Boy,
 
waves at cars, trucks, and passers-by. She smiles,
tries to extend peace. Like ocean,
 
she rises in currents of kindness, as if the sea opened
its loving arms for you. 





When Dogs Bark, the Road I Walk
 
 
In chill of afternoon, a gathering of light.
Amber, coral, and honey cast color.
Leaves hug base of maple — its trunk
appears warm, as if wrapped in scarf,  
afghan. Oh, the scarves I’ve made,
afghans too. As a kid, my mom taught
me to crochet. Turning the hook felt
awkward, yet, as stitches formed
and rhythm developed, the awkwardness
disappeared. A leaf drops — its scarlet
sheen brightens my insides. Nature does
that, as do dogs — how they bark and fuss,
wag their tails, cheer a person. Good boys,
I say. Are you good boys? Yes, you are!
Pond smiles with reflection. Clouds stroll
as geese launch from roadside tangle.
Sumac lifts her crimson hues. Cattails fluff
with seed. Oak’s bark ripples in gray, splits
in brown and rust. My walk is a gathering
of light and color, of dogs and memory.
I recall my first afghan — stripes of soft
blue, green, and pink, triadic color.
For years, my mom kept it, that artless-
looking blanket. Its stitches were messy,
inconsistent. She and her dogs must have
treasured all ten feet of it, how it stretched
and morphed, ripped and unraveled,
got messier — consistent with a well-loved
life. How autumn falls for winter, how artful
the turning seasons and the road I walk. 

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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). She is also author and illustrator of Rhyme the Roost! A Collection of Poems and Paintings for Children (Daffydowndilly Press, an imprint of Kelsay Books, 2019) and Let's Make Faces! (author-published, 2009). Her work appears in print and online in North American and international journals and anthologies. 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.