Poetry

Writing for Life

by
Judith Schiele
 

There may be one hiding
in the closet; worn out shoes
and old maternity clothes
surely have something to say.
One might be sleeping in the bassinet
stored in the attic, or buried
in boxes underneath the bed.
I thought I heard one mumbling
this morning. Startled by the alarm,
it disguised itself in static.
The furnace groaned and a memory
or an almost-understanding
stirred inside me--the first flutter
of an embryo. I adjusted
the thermostat and the feeling
sucked into the return vent--
bacon screamed in the skillet.
Someone said lost poems are
poems lost forever; like lightning,
words won't strike the same place
twice. Another form of death.
I walked around the block
blank with paper and pen ready.
Smoke rose from chimneys--
misplaced angels
escaping?
Bluish dawn,
frozen earth, leafless trees
speechless,
I shouted show yourself,
keep me alive! 

 

Having no formal training in writing Judith simply tries to express through poetry how life speaks to her. Some of the magazines who have accepted her work are: The Rose and Thorn, Wilmington Blues, This Hard Wind, Maelstrom, Stirring and PW Review. She was chosen as a juried poet in the 1999 Houston Poetry Fest and published in the University of Houston Anthology.