Poetry – Joanna Horton McPherson

Before I Speak

It’s my turn To take the mic Giving voice to the bravery Dwelling deep where my story lives I don’t like to feel What’s difficult This standing here on stage before you Is the beginning of being Willing to feel The fear of fear, The anger of anger, The doubt Taking a stand for myselfContinue reading “Before I Speak”

Available now: The Vulnerability of Birds Poetry Collection

The same woman

When I am 91Waking up in my bed on wide white sheetsVanishing into the open question At the end of my lifeI am still a young womanNo baby suckles my breasts AnymoreNo tiny hand in mine Brings me to the windowTo hear the birdsYet I am the same woman Who wrote this poemLong agoFrom theContinue reading “The same woman”

Scandal

It is an act of self contemptThat I pull white hairs from my head Leaning into the mirrorScanning for the inaccuraciesIn what I wish to beMy youthful appearance This is not just a denial of the truth of my ageBut a metaphor for my existence These unruly sproutsArrived at this late hour toExpress the essentialContinue reading “Scandal”

God Washes Away the Devil

I used to I used to I used to knowWho I amChaos(Turn)Doesn’t the devil do his work?Under disguisePain is dependence(Turn)Listen Go InIn in in, friendDown down downLight call it Relax softIn call in the light Down down downLet it fill tendencyPain is the openingTendernessOf GodYou are right This is who you areRememberGod washes away the devil

Arizona

How different we are If different is the word For your dirty feet Nestled sweetly together Two tired pigeons The sun bakes the heat into the pavement like a griddleSearing any skin it touchesNot fit for a human To walk hereUnder this overpassBy the concrete park You are grey dust Grey shirt grey mess hairIn a haze of busy avenue shadowsContinue reading “Arizona”

Touching the Earth

When you are left behindIn the herd’s movements and young potency And you forget who you areRemember: you know how to listen

Under the Black Moon

I.Mercury / black moonBreatheLittle cat gripping the walls of the tubStart over and trust that I canII.I wasn’t old enough to even buy cigarettesSought out troubleThe black sicknessCrouched over the hypnotic whirr of the ceramic wheelMy hands lost in the curative water of clay slipThe clay demands perfect balance or else warps off centerI allowContinue reading “Under the Black Moon”

Welcome I and II

I.Three crows greet me this morning Hopping in place on the fence Strange friends Crowd aroundThey stay close Eyes stop as I pass And meet the winking black gaze Of the closest A fourth alights On a far wall: the witness Then a fifthLate to the murder What had they been waiting for? Is itContinue reading “Welcome I and II”

The Vulnerability of Birds

I. Feathers follow me where I go And show me the way A confirmation from the other side of the veil I’m on the right track Wine is a thief Who steals from me moments Yes of my life but more importantly From yours Today on our walk My first day after giving up wineContinue reading “The Vulnerability of Birds”