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still vivid
childhood memories
laughing lunch with elder daughter
phoned younger to giggle over memory
she chuckles, musing, “strange how
incidents of decades ago come flooding
back as though they just happened”
wayward words
hurt, but not sure it was meant that way
funny how a word or two
can run caustic over my being
it takes a breath and a moment
to reflect on past joys
to put the feelings of hurt and anger
back into my pocket
frugal, ingenious mama
we see so little of the intricate interconnectedness of Nature
wrangled gold, red, orange, even blue
from green, hard-working leaves
chemical plants that produce, as waste
what we vitally need to breathe
how frugal Mother Nature is
surplus from one of Her species
giving life to another
yet, as we inhale to gasp at her beauty
we ignore Her life-sustaining labor
long may She forgive us
person to person
how we communicate acceptance with loving laughter!
sweet laughter, throaty chuckle, lingering smile
nothing tells more of human warmth
stranger in the room
responding to a fine stranger
stranger in the room
admired the more he speaks
for the idealism he’s incorporated into his life’s work
and warm reaction to teasing and laughter
it’s reassuring to respond, even wistfully, after years of widowhood
i suppose i am still alive after all
work carried on and accomplished
generations of labor and love
a lifetime of careful labor
added to parents’
to make of a farm
a palette of charm and beauty
abundant for the eye and appetite
mjNordgren 10/26/2022 McMinnville
interview with mjNordgren
fun interview with mj
now live on the City of Forest Grove Website - https://www.forestgrove-or.gov/bc-pac/page/local-artist-spotlight
In the spring of 2022, Pacific University students interviewed local artists and mjNordgren (author) for their art advocates class. What a fun time that turned out to be.
one payment, two rewards
poem about a rare opportunity in my family
aching to help my independent offspring
whose pride of self and generous spirit
i would not hurt for any gain
and now i can assist by spending
what i would have at any rate
but applying it to a cost she could not pay
delicious fear
poem remembering childhood Octobers
our discovery of delicious fear
in spooky darkness
moderated by dancing campfire light
surrounded by friends and family
listening together to storyteller
whose many voices send
chills into the marrow of our bones
so long as we know we are safe
de-desiccating
poem after a long, hot summer
cold rain, so long forgotten
for these drought dust months
green now as though each raindrop
painted blade after blade
leaf upon leaf
with the promise that not all seasons
are bone-desiccating summer
fall of yellow
An original poem by MaryJane Nordgren
a breeze
and its rain of yellow
leaves, warmth
of a golden summer
sun grown ripe
ready for the fall
revelation
storyteller at campfire
story-teller’s tone, inflection
expression and body language
as he sits, hovers, bends, twists
against the flickering firelight
recreating, intensifying, revealing
teaching us to re-think, re-feel
re-live the vastness and wonder
of our lives
october gratitude
flashes of exotic color
bright sunlight filtered
by autumn-tinted leaves
brilliant, exotic flashes
of unsung colors
quicken my pulse
awaken my need to give thanks
aruna
he went to serve and found the core of his life
a gentle peace corps volunteer
in fiji meets vivacious, adventurous
beauty and falls into a love that lasts
decades of shared sorrows, accomplishments and joys
his service to the world has built
the core of his full world
reward enough and plenty
fool time
clock v earth rhythm
darker now, we turn on lights
seek entertainment while our bodies cry for rest
awaken to annoying, fabricated noises before refreshed renewal completed
live by the rule of the clock rather than the rhythm of earth
and now contemplate changing to daylight savings all year
with noon when the sun is not high overhead
reader comment about October mjNewsletter
reader re-reads again and again
"You touch beautifully so many aspects of your and others' experiences (family, friends, a queen), glimpses of personal journeys, sweet, sad and tender-hearted , elements of surprise, puzzlement, pondering. Love your opening statement about open minds and the art pieces that enhance your wods. So much food for thought to be read again and again." S.A., Oregon
