Ode to Potatoes

Potato diversity in Huancayo central Market. Photo: Michael Major for Crop Trust

Earthly treasures buried deep
Mined from the richest dirt
Jewels of every shape and color
Amethyst
Russet
Red
Gold
Yellow
Orange
Faceted with eyes
Roasted
Steamed
Boiled
Fried
Crown jewels of my plate

gws

I Hope the World Is Kind

To any who my words reach
In a time and place I will never see
I hope the world is kind
And if such things as kindness
Still prove fleeting
I charge you with performing
Defiant acts of kindness
That your efforts might fall 
Like seeds upon fallow fields
And grow like wildflowers
In the hearts of those you touch

-gws

Drama

Don't disperse disused desperation
Drastic and droll
Dreadfully dramatic
Deeply disconcerting

-gws

Red

Roses and rust and rivulets of blood
Rubies and robins and radiant flame
Victory red lipstick of defiance
Red flesh of cool plums in summer
Winking red of garnet facets in grandmothers' rings
Washington Reds hanging from autumn apple trees
Red hand prints representing the missing and murdered
Blinking red lights lining dark empty streets
Red dresses whipping and swirling to tango on stages
Crisp red uniforms of Beefeaters on guard
Red sports cars cruising the streets of LA
Cardinal red of Stanford Sports
Crimson Red and Columbia Blue of my high school
Cherry red inside a pie
Glossy candy apple red
Ripe red strawberries perfuming summer picnics 
Enflamed red of flushed cheeks
Sacred menses red 
Red haze of rage blurring vision
Bruised red of kissed lips
Fruit punch red staining faces
Watermelon red dripping from hands
Red wine glowing in glasses
Berries bright red in winter snow

-gws

A Winter Soul In Spring

Spring has arrived
Birds sing sweetly
In quickening branches bursting with blooms 
My winter soul peers out of bleary eyes
Before I pull the covers over my head

-gws

Anxiety Dream

What is happening in my head
That I have dreams that I must wed
Oh what a dream to cause me dread
While I was tucked up in my bed

My dream reflects my feelings deep
That swirl and churn while I'm asleep
Such anxiety does darkly steep
Like vicious shadows slink and creep

And in the morning light I wake
All too aware of my mistakes
Afraid the wrong path I may take
So precious are the things at stake

So ground I must so I achieve
A state of peace I can believe
My anxiety for now relieved
Now in a state of calm reprieve

-gws

Buffets

I don’t know what I’m doing 
I don’t know how to adult 
Waking up everyday to 
Some new unknown challenge 
I’ve been told that God doesn’t 
Give you more than you can handle 
They don’t tell you God lays out
A buffet of mild to spicy experiences
I don’t think I’m a fan of buffets

-gws

Bubble

Hope is a soap bubble dancing in the air long past when it should have burst

-gws

I Am No Poet

I am no poet
I am an observer
A curious wallflower
Peering into the places most do not dare
The voyeur blending in and watching
Keenly aware of the scene and vibe

I am no poet
I am a witness
A lyrical historian
Peeling back the layers of what is obvious
Making note and taking measure
Commenting on the beauty and the bruise

I am no poet
I am a documentarian
A mental photographer
Describing the visage of the soul
Capturing the form of feeling
Casting light on dreams

I am no poet
I am an illustrator
A linguistic artist
Scratching lines on paper
Forming images from curves of ink
Building portraits from words

I am no poet
I am a woman
A single breathe in the wind
Performing no obvious magic
Sharing the same life experience
Human and divine

-gws

Goodnight Bears

Here is you bear
All worn from love
Or perhaps adorned with it
Your partner in your slumbering adventures
Defender against all that scares you
It is your beacon in the darkest night
It's felted heart doused in the 
Nostalgia of your mother's perfume
Tangible reminder of lingering embraces
That will greet you again in the light of morning
Goodnight my little bears
Hold each other tight

-gws