Five Poems by Joan Leotta

 

Mike’s Mountains

 

I visited neighbours

Mike and Cheryl the other day.

I brought her, in caregiver mode,

some chocolate.

Brought Mike a photo

I’d taken of sunrise in mountains.

I think I snapped it in France

in the time we all could travel,

before the world was ill.

I knew he’d like it since after all

mountains are wonderful no matter

where they are--upward rising peaks

calming the spirit, giving hope

that we, like them, can rise high,

high enough to knock on at

blue sky heaven’s door.

I told Mike I wasn’t sure

about the location of these mountains.

Confessing my confusion

about the location of these, I said,

“Mike, a West Virginia man like

yourself loves mountains,

no matter where they are. Right.”

He looked at the photo, smiled,  

set it aside and laid down.

His wife pulled a blanket

over his too thin limbs,

then walked me to their door.

 

She whispered that the next day

she’d be taking Mike to hospice

because the doctor told her,

“He has just a few days

more at most. We can care

for him better there.”

When Mike waved good-by,

I think he knew that

like his beloved

mountains he

would be knocking at

heaven’s door.

No wonder when I left,

he was smiling.

 

 

My Neighbor Died Last Night

 

On sunny days 

he’d sit out on the porch

waving at us,

always ready to chat and laugh

until he went inside for supper.

Last night,

rain

thunder

repeating

lightening all

night long extending 

into a dark, damp, dawn.

The day was grey and

then my neighbour’s wife called.

It seems sky’s percussion, flash and sparks

accompanied my neighbour’s march                      

from his porch into the next world.

 

 

Listening to Sunset

 

Crickets in the dune grasses

birds calling out when

they see unguarded food,

parents calling children

to stay close because it will be dark soon,

these are quiet compared to what

will come.

Standing by the ocean,

my toes relaxing in the small, gentle

tickle of tiny waves rolling

in as sun’s pink and

orange and purple crayons roll

over the white clouds,

at last, the sound I’ve been awaiting

comes when sun

dips into the water--a sizzle,

then a sigh like I

make dipping into a warm tub

to relax my muscles

after a hard day of work.

I look around but no one

else looks up, seems to hear it.

I marvel that others only look

but do not listen to the sunset.

 

A haiku about the sun

 

Sun’s Midas touch

transforms grey tide pools

into golden mirrors

 

 

Why I Love the Moon More

 

Yes, I admit it, I love the moon

more than I love the sun,

that ever present steady globe,

round and full always.

Oh, I know that spots

fly across his surface

And occasionally he

disappears in an eclipse

but mostly he is there, all

present for the day.

Moon, however, is more

forthright. She changes,

yes, nightly, not even waiting

for eclipse. We see her different

sides, her varied moods,

each eve we look up.

Her sliver glow is orb like

or crescent thin, full or

loosing light or gaining same.

She is a creature more like me,

changeable--

so, yes, I trust her more.

 

Joan Leotta plays with words on page and stage. She performs tales featuring food, family, nature, and strong women. Her writings are in Ekphrastic Review, Pinesong, Lothlorien, The Sun, Brass Bell, Verse Visual, anti-heroin chic, Gargoyle, Silver Birch, Ovunquesiamo, Verse Virtual, Poetry in Plain Sight, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Yellow Mama, and others. She’s a 2021 Pushcart nominee,  received Best of Micro Fiction, 2021 (Haunted Waters), nominee for Best of the Net, 2023, and 2022 runner up in Frost Foundation Poetry Competition. Her second chapbook, Feathers on Stone, is coming in late 2022 from Main Street Rag. She is a member of the North Carolina Poetry Society, a member and area representative for North Carolina Writers Network and on the stage side of her work, member of, and as the coastal area representative for NC’s Tar Heel Tellers and coordinates Poetry Workshops/Readings online through her county Arts Council.

Joan Leotta
Author, Story Performer
“Encouraging words through Pen and Performance”

Nominated for Pushcart and Best of Net in 2021

"Feathers on Stone" poetry chapbook available for pre-publication orders now at

https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/feathers-on-stone-joan-leotta/

Other Joan Leotta Books

Languid Lusciousness with Lemon, Finishing Line Press (Amazon)

Morning by Morning and Dancing Under the Moon, two free mini-chapbooks are at https://www.origamipoems.com/poets/257-joan-leotta