~ searching north star by Jeanne René

"with cherry fields
pink cheeks
and empty stomach
until we celebrate together"

~~from empty stomach by northstar


***

You must look in the direction of the wish,
half-way up within the night sky
teetering on the horizon
of desire and intuition.
Polaris of the lover,
she defines the east, west and south of moonlight

You must look by the way of the heart,
the guiding path overgrown with rose tear,
mint flower and lemon thorn memory.
You must trace the line of
falling-dreams across the cheek as she passes,
following the quiver of the compass,

and embracing
the wistful brilliance of her voice

to find the north star.



copyright jeanne rene

Photo via Good Free Photos

~complete and unabridged~ by Jeanne René

i am relatively old

this i surmised today
due to waking with pain across my back
accompanied by well versed groans
when reaching for toes
and stretching mournful extremities

deep into my morning revelry
a fanciful thought creeps into my over-taxed genius
that i would like to slip into shakespeare’s works
complete and unabridged

be written boldly into his pages
to puff my chest and billow my skirts
rant and rave and wallow
and allow
my venerable bones speak to me
in brittle soliloquy
of some memory waiting
absolution
and stubborn prayers
whispered in endless revolution

a silly wandering
to take my days
in tempest or merriment
and play them against the centuries
quoting my very own “adieu, adieu”
and placing one more virgin kiss
wildly upon my romeo
to be of one parchment penned
with quill that embellishes youth and age
and all senses embroiled
on earth and hell and heaven

but as i curl my lip against the spasm of my weary ways
and manage at last to stand straight and light
i laugh at my dramatic musing
and in truth know that i would simply settle
to set myself
once more
as in
former days
upon a nicely rounded derriere



jeanne rené 4/05