“Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine groves and long melon fields; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgundy red, the fields the color of love and Spanish mysteries.” Jack Kerouac, On the Road
California ~
A tapestry
stitched from turquoise seas
and flaxen hills
threaded with
the twists and turns
of fault lines
and mad rivers,
redwood forests and
citrus groves
shot with yellow and orange
The skies are woven with
fuchsia at sunrise
At dusk ripe apricot
tumbles across raw umber earth
In Napa Valley
the geometry of vineyards
is neatly plotted
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read byNorthern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”
“What if our religion was each other. If our practice was our life. If prayer, our words. What if the temple was the Earth. If forests were our church. If holy water–the rivers, lakes, and ocean. What if meditation was our relationships. If the teacher was life. If wisdom was self-knowledge. If love was the center of our being.” Ganga White, teacher and exponent of Yoga and founder of White Lotus, a Yoga center and retreat house in Santa Barbara, CA
“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton
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Love this poem! California has always been my happy place. I feel like I’m home every time I visit. Some hilarious, special memories while there. Reading your poem left me lost in warm memories and smiling. Thank you. Beautiful photo too.
In Landlocked PA. I used to live in San Jose and loved driving down to Monterrey and Santa Cruz on the weekends. I’ve run the Big Sur Marathon twice and am so in love with the coastline!
Visiting PA is enjoyable although living here, at least for me especially coming after 2016, has been difficult. The farmland is lovely to look at though. Quite a different landscape than CA.
Yet another beautiful Poem Jamie! Thank you. You have painted such a wonderful picture in words and feelings for California, somewhere I’ve never been. 🙂💜🌼
Love this poem! California has always been my happy place. I feel like I’m home every time I visit. Some hilarious, special memories while there. Reading your poem left me lost in warm memories and smiling. Thank you. Beautiful photo too.
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Thank YOU!
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Yes! I miss CA’s beauty. There are so many gorgeous landscapes there. This poem brought back some beautiful memories.
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Remind me: What are you now, Irma?
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In Landlocked PA. I used to live in San Jose and loved driving down to Monterrey and Santa Cruz on the weekends. I’ve run the Big Sur Marathon twice and am so in love with the coastline!
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I’m near there. Yes! Beautiful. I have enjoyed PA too, though not as resident. Just visitor.
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Visiting PA is enjoyable although living here, at least for me especially coming after 2016, has been difficult. The farmland is lovely to look at though. Quite a different landscape than CA.
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Yes! Very different. Quite an adjustment.
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Yet another beautiful Poem Jamie! Thank you. You have painted such a wonderful picture in words and feelings for California, somewhere I’ve never been. 🙂💜🌼
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Thanks Jen
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Love the images!
Sent from my iPad Joan Leotta Author, Story performer http://Www.joanleotta.wordpress.com
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