Published on 15 February 2019

Dear Ones,

Here is an early poem …

. . . . .

ENTER SOFTLY
A Poem by Alice B. Clagett
amongst her early works

Enter softly.
Do harsh steps shake the world?
molest the grass?
kill caterpillars?

The cold pale knight of morning
unwraps the dead.

Once more, my love
love me more.
I see you in my mind’s eye
with the mind’s kiss
and the mind’s sigh

Cat’s eyes
two yellow slits in a black screen
watched over us.
Clock’s tick
renewed our silent symphony.

Dew tells no audience
the record of such rhapsody.
Only
receding
washes pawpads
of our AWOL guardian.

. . . . .

Alice B. Clagett

Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..

Published on 15 February 2019

Dear Ones,

Here is an early poem …

. . . . .

PROMISES
A Poem by Alice B. Clagett
amongst her early works

Touch me, touch me!
prone on the sand
warm morning sun tickled her knee
sea breeze touched hair
spiderly.

You are one.

Fill up the time with promises.

. . . . .

Alice B. Clagett

Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..

Published on 15 February 2019

Dear Ones,

Here is an early poem written when I lived in San Francisco and worked downtown there …

. . . . .

THE FOUNTAIN
A Poem by Alice B. Clagett
amongst her early works

A fountain in continuous ejaculation
greets the spring

Futile trajectory
recycled to itself

Some small spilling onto
infertile grey stones
cemented to the city

.

Grow me grass in crannies
flowers beside you, fountain
try.

. . . . .

Alice B. Clagett

Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..

Image Markup: “The Stoppered Bottle,” adapted from Image by Rolanda from Pixabay, Pixabay Content License

Image Markup: “The Stoppered Bottle,” adapted from Image by Rolanda from Pixabay, Pixabay Content License

. . . . .

Dear Ones,

Here is an early poem by me entitled “Jaimithai, Jaimithai.” The word Jaimithai is pronounced: Jay’ myth ae … The last syllable rhymes with the word: day

. . . . .

JAIMITHAI, Jaimithai
A Poem by Alice B. Clagett
amongst her early works

Fast,
so fast!
Where did it go?
We didn’t spend it.
It sped by on lubricated, golden grooves.

Jamithai, Jaimithai,
come to me once more,
only once more.
The image of your presence
smells so sweet.

This old maid’s abode
once rocked with disorder,
emphasized disorder front face
to my futile, fussy finicking.

Jamithai, Jaimithai,
when you left I put the laughter
in the blown glass stoppered bottle on the mantel.
I don’t know how long laughter keeps
before it spoils for good.
Perhaps it has grown old and dry like me.

Jamithai, Jaimithai,
if I had been born like you,
under a wild tree,
what would I not have done
that you dared do,
we two wild scion seeds of a wild tree?

Did I pick my mother?
Did she pick the peach tree?

. . . . .

Alice B. Clagett

Written in the 1960s; published on 15 February 2019; updated on 14 February 2024

From … Link: “Jaimithai, Jaimithai,” a poem by Alice B. Clagett, published on 15 February 2019; updated on 14 February 2024 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-wvo ..

Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..

Published on 15 February 2019

Dear Ones,

Here is an early poem, written during my father’s final illness …

. . . . .

MONROE STREET, N.E.
A Poem by Alice B. Clagett
amongst her early works

.

Monroe Street, N.E. :

Trees like hairy octopi
reach to catch the passerby

.

The black cat
with backlit, yellow eyes
Skulks
on a picket fence

. . . . .

Alice B. Clagett

Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..