A Sip from Solitude

Unusual Hue

1972 Schwinn World Traveler

My first bicycle

In Crayola spring green

so proud and yet

vastly different

from the other kids

on their

brown and blue wheels.

They celebrate each other

in their sameness

while I struggle

to make peace

with my unusual hue.

jj 2022

A Glimmer of Light

"change your view change your life" illustration by Joni James

(with a bit of help from a glimmer of sunlight)

It is within my purpose

where I find both

sorrow and

joy.

I suffer the pain

in silence and in crowd

my face may show peace

until no one is around.

But in my darkest

moments

it just takes a tiny glimmer

of light

to tip the balance

of hope

back in to sight.

The Raven

Crystalline blanket wrapping arms,
Reaching for the sky
The air seeps tiny jewels
Season reminders fly

Snow & ice that hide the way

My escape is near impossible
At least today

Treacherous livid Raven!
Judge of the land
Cries his lunacy in the woods
Of which no human will stand

Jagged peaks that hide the sun
Most the day in darkness I run
Snow & ice that hide the road
I, a fugitive
Carry my load

Joni James 1981 Anchorage Alaska

Fragile

Let me dance this life

To a rhythm of joy

Keep me from the flatness

That threatens this tune

Dance with me stardust

And forget-me-nots

in June

Repelling the winds

That rob this

too

soon.

Joni James

An Inconvenient Truth

I fell in love with Earth today

Its highest peaks

And its lowest lands

Under the arctic cap

And far beneath our lives

She carries all our secrets

But never cries...

She softly spins

And moves us along

In her natural dance

With her powerful song

But, underneath her atmospheric veil

She harbors all its lies

Not telling all the mistakes we've made

While she silently dies.

Joni James

The Jewelry Box

Wiping away the markings

of those

tarnished years

I slowly reveal the layers

of a soul's true beauty

through my own

tears.

I can once again see the luster

Which always longed to be seen

At times forgotten when life's hardships

unknowingly affected

its gleam.

We are all innocent children

Living these imperfect years

Our shine too easily lost

in our disappointments

and fears.

My hope for us all

Is to see in each one

the perfect jewel

we all

came from.

So, take up your cloth

and polish away the pain

forgiving the sting and blemish

And the damaging shame.

My mother, a jewel

And you are one just the same

So let your life shine through your struggles

Knowing, no one is to blame.

Joni James

Who Are the Birds

I am most certain

that the birds are

souls passed on from here

They perch themselves

on the telephone wires

and branches

And pray for us

Petition for us

And where do they go

when the sun goes down?

Nobody knows

or even question

I am convinced

They are the reach

between Heaven

& Earth.