Time for a Poem (or Two)

Let Love

Let an open heart

drench us in love.

When critique flies in

fill your well with kindness–

a hand offered, a drink, a cup.

Let us understand,

step back from analysis,

bow to forgiveness. Let us

put our hands together

in a prayer of thanks for our mistakes

that teach us to laugh at ourselves,

smile, connect to all human hearts.

Forgiveness feels so good.

Let’s hug it to ourselves like a pillow.

Let’s lie on it like a feather bed.

© Wendy Patrice Williams

The People of  NO

I was attracting broken

people torn off at the root.

Aimless we wandered

or just keeled over, our

branches dead on the earth.

We found others with holes,

sisters, brothers floundering;

we dragged heavy nets of shards

until there were too many. Sharp-

edged or dry and brittle, we

were empty, pretending to be full,

stirring up a ruckus. Wastelanders

picking up broken cups to drink from,

in our way, trying to find home.

No one told us to stand still, sink roots.

The word “broken” had hypnotized

us. It was a matter though

of waking up. A snowflake landed

on my third eye—it couldn’t have been

random. The seed of me in there

somewhere        YES

yearning to take hold.

© Wendy Patrice Williams

The poems appear above without their stanza breaks. WordPress undoes them after I save the post, so each poem is without its paragraph breaks so-to-speak. Hope you enjoyed the poems regardless.

Poetry is a tool of healing. I’ve always told my students that poetry saved my life. Through it, I was able to express raw emotions as a troubled, young woman and share them with others. This process of catharsis and witnessing was priceless. Writing poetry is still a lifeline. And I love the circle of friends I’ve made in the sharing of it.

My poem “Rondeau for Blue Jays” is coming out in the new anthology for Sacramento poets. Come hear me read! Come hear a bunch of wonderful poems from many different contributors!! Below are the details in the words of the Poet Laureate of Sacramento, Bob Stanley:

“Mark your calendar!  [The] Saturday, October 20 event is the official Book Release Party for Late Peaches, Poems by Sacramento Poets, the new anthology from the Sacramento Poetry Center, featuring 117 poets from the Capital region. We hope to have as many contributors as possible attend, read their poems, and sign books at this event. We plan to start with a reception at 6:30, followed by a reading from 7 to 9:30.  The reading will take place as follows:

–       Sat, Oct 20, 6:30 to 9:30 pm at Antiquité Maison Privee, 2114 P Street, Sacramento, California.

We also have two other scheduled readings for the anthology:

–       Thurs, Oct 18, 6 to 8 pm at the Rancho Cordova Library

–       Thurs, Nov 8, 4 to 5 pm at California State University at Sacramento Library Galleria

At each of these readings, we will have . . . books for sale. The price of the book will be $20, and there is a possibility for a discounted price for . . . [Sacramento Poetry Center] members.”

HOPE TO SEE YOU!!