Author Archives: janishaag

for Laura Martin It occurs to me that I’ve never asked—you, the Pie Lady, about your favorite kinds,you who bake them for holidays andoccasions, for friends— and what flavor might I assemble for you?A word pie of perfectly blended syllablesnot … Continue reading →

You think I don’t love you,that I think of you asjust the feeder? What about when I curl upright between your legs at night,locking you into warmth? When I sniff the socks you’vejust removed to inhalethe essence of you that … Continue reading →

(in memory of Heide Juchnik) That we are hardwired to loveand lose is what comes again and again—the euphoria of spring springinginto sudden, bright leaves wherethere were none days ago,green harbingers that will agethrough summer, grow brittleby fall. It is … Continue reading →

Now you’re just teasing us with thesepopcorn clouds scudding by one moment and thick gray clodhoppers overheadthe next. You dangle spring before us like a carrot before the horse, likecatnip treats I offer the cat before sneaking in to pill … Continue reading →

Three young men showed upnot long after 8 a.m. ready tocarefully trim the old sycamore,its caretaker a bit trepidatiousabout what Braden, the climber,might decide to remove. It’s a heritage tree, the estimatorsaid, which means that they takeextreme care with the … Continue reading →

for Deborah Meltvedt on World Poetry Day The river looks like a muddy lake,milk chocolate spread from bank to bank, the swollen American not at flood stage,but definitely a crest that will recede in the coming days. We walk the … Continue reading →

toward spring even aswinter still whooshes through us,shakes us like a wet dogpelting us with spiky drops. Turningthe heart toward mystery,toward the divine,as we walk into whatwe cannot see, as we turnrounding this sharp corner,then that one,the winding path unclearbut, … Continue reading →

But how pretty, like a peonyblasted open with a starry center,WR124 surrounded by watercolor gases that signify its approachingend, before it undergoes a turbulenttransformation, before it supernovas into glowing cosmic dust. It’s sheddingits outer layers now, a molting star,petals loosening … Continue reading →

for Cliff Look at them:all that rainbow-y nylon drippinglike bridal veils—one whose facewears a happy rainbow overwhite clouds and half a circle of sun,the other with a prancing unicornunder the little purple and greentissue paper diamond, dentedand torn, two big … Continue reading →

For Clifford Ernest PollandMay 21, 1952–March 18, 2001 On this day of green, of imminent spring,of green beer and drunken celebration,I think of you on that terribly ordinary day,setting off to eat corned beef and cabbagewith your siblings,me planning to … Continue reading →