A Christmas Poem

This Christmas poem was written a few years ago after I overheard a woman in the grocery store concerned that she didn't have enough cloves for her hot mulled wine. (Four bottles of cloves weren't enough? Ha!) I think Mary spoke to me personally that day, whispering into my subconscious, "Jeanne, you have to write this.... now!"  Merry Christmas!

Painting by Andrea Solari, ca. 1507

Sweet Savor

What shall I drink? Egg nog or grog?

What did the Holy Family drink

on that holiest night of nights?

Did Mary lean over to Joseph

after giving birth to Jesus and say,

“Joseph, be a dear and pour me

another glass of Chardonnay?”

To which Joseph replied,

“Mary, Darling, all we have is

a little hot mulled wine left over

from the party last night.”

Or…did a father, proud

after such a long trip

offer his bride a sip

of water to give her joy

upon delivering this

beautiful, healthy Boy?

Did the baby cry

in a humble home

and look to his mother,

so beautiful and warm,

reach up, to touch

her swollen breast

and drink of the milk

from the Mother blessed?

© Jeanne I. Lakatos 

Artistry

An artist is a poet is an artist...Incorporation of art and poetry creates illumination of a human experience.

 

Artistry of a Poet's Hand

A fine gold nib gently fits

into a feathered pen.

The well of silver and crystal accepts colorful ink,

carefully poured by the hand of a poet.

This artisan of words dips the golden nib  

into the well, slides it along the neck,

allowing excess fluid to gracefully drip

off its gilded edge.

The poet reflects on placement of each word,

and touching nib to parchment,

propels the filled pen to stroke left, then right,

forming each letter with deliberate flourish.

Ornate illuminations of richly hued imagery

in crimson, amethyst, and beryl green,

penned along the borders of the page,

elegantly coalesce genius with beauty:

the Word, inscribed.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

"Snow and Wind"

To me, the holiday includes memories of snow and wind, family gatherings in Michigan, where, no matter how intense the weather, we always gathered at my Grandma's house to celebrate. As an adult, those memories revive with each new 'winter weather advisory' and with a lovely fire in the fireplace, all outside hostilities melt away....

Photos taken with my Canon SureShot in Danbury, CT

Snow and Wind

Snow speaks silently,

caresses my heart

with memories,

tickles my soul

with anticipation,

blends with ice

to generate adrenalin

focus.

Howling wind

erases impressions

with its jealous grasp

stings my cheeks

wraps around my bones.

My body shivers

to generate adrenalin

warmth.

Fire beyond the hearth

stoked with trees 

that once shaded, once housed,

once bore sparkling icicles

now draws me into its 

crackling core

to melt adrenalin

dreams.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

A Blessed Thanksgiving to all!

Wishing anyone who reads this blog a Blessed Thanksgiving Day! 

(Click here to listen to the Thanksgiving Song, sung by Melinda Hawley.)

from Google Images

On this Veterans Day, I say to all Veterans...

Thank you, Veterans! 

God Bless you!

Dusk

Below, I have written a poem based on a photograph, as an example of Ekphrasis.

My photograph is of the beautiful East Lake in Danbury, Connecticut, at sunset, just before dusk. 

I took this photo of East Lake in Danbury, Connecticut.

Dusk

Indigo pond

reflects

a hopeful, graying sky

shades of peach and blue

intermingle 

with soft, fleecy clouds

framing the Peace

that harkens my heart 

dreaming

 of possibilities

Dusk.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

For All Saint's Day (Nov. 1), I've chosen to write of my patron saint, Jeanne D'Arc, whose spirit I've called upon on a number of occasions for strength and perseverance. 

Joan of Arc's Death at the Stake  by Hermann Stilke (1803–1860)    

Jeanne D’Arc

Stalwart, spiritual,

she engages

an army

of anxious souls.

Her fate: rejection

inflamed 
by the ignorant

transporting her

to glorious praise

from Love’s Source.

Courage endures

through

fervent benevolence.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos  

To view a website devoted to Jeanne D’Arc:

 http://www.jeanne-darc.info/

Thomas Paine and Revolutionary Consciousness: A Lesson for Twenty-First Century Readers

Thomas Paine, Rights of Man (photos from Google images)

Thomas Paine differentiates between natural and civil rights of man, with the latter originating from the former. He interprets the aristocracy’s use of language as a means of establishing a sense of power. Echoing the consciousness of the eighteenth-century philosopher, John Locke, Paine elucidates for his readers an emerging global consciousness in Rights of Man:

The progress of time and circumstances, which men assign to the accomplishment of great changes, is too mechanical to measure the force of the mind, and the rapidity of reflection, by which revolutions are generated:  All the old governments have received a shock from those that already appear, and which were once more improbable, and are a greater subject of wonder, than a general revolution in Europe would be now…. what we now see in the world, from the Revolutions of America and France, are a renovation of the natural order of things, a system of principles as universal as truth and existence of man, and combining moral with political happiness and national prosperity.[1]

Our politicians of the twenty-first century could do well to consider Mr. Paine's words. These fundamental beliefs authentically provide his readership with contrasting attributes of the narrow vision present in governmental hierarchy in contrast with those belonging to humanity in general. A correlation between humanity and nature formed the consciousness of revolutionary thought, which eventually fed into the elaborate (and beautiful) artistic, musical, and literary expressions of romanticism.

It's October 18, 2023. Are we on the brink of realizing free expression, found within the core of human creativity....or... are we on the brink of a constrained life experience, found in a contrived order as the result of total control of the human mind? 

---

[1] Quoted in Foner 536-37.

Anaphora Poetry

Below, is a poem written in the Anaphora poetic format. I took the photo in Dublin a few years ago at an international street vendor competition. Observing this 'fairy' with the many children she attracted was magical.

For Giveness

Given 

from the heart,

given with humility,

given freely,

this gift of joy

is a given 

that another will 

give
passing the gift
forward.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Phonology

                                      I took this photo of a street musician in Dublin a few years ago

On the topic of phonology or phonetic consciousness, the study of way humans combine  sounds to create linguistic patterns, I give you a brief excerpt from my book: Innovations in Rhetoric in the Writing of Sydney Swenson (Lady Morgan, 181-1859) and below that, a poem I wrote entitled, Consciousness. Enjoy! 

Steven Pinker discusses the impact of phonology and semantics as individuals experience sensory connections in their formation of new concepts:    

The phonemes and syllables in a word contact their counterparts in memory piecemeal, more and more of them finding a match as the milliseconds tick by. As soon as all the pieces match some entry, the irregular form linked to the entry is fetched and shunted to the vocal tract. While the lookup is in progress, the inhibitory signal sent to the rule box gets stronger and stronger, and when all goes well, the rule is braked to a halt. 

At this point, the individual synapses in the brain connect the familiar sound with a specific memory. 

---

[1] Steven Pinker, Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, (New York: Harper, 2011), p. 130.

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Consciousness

Jung's is collective

containing collaborative

but chaotic compositions

carefully calculated

to create clear cut

caricatures of cranial

cacophonies in crazy

and occasionally corny

creatures who care

about causes and effects.

But mine is coincidental, 

caught between 

casual and coiffure

occasionally quirky

consistent and tranquil

cautious,  concerned

a creatively concocted 

course of action, 

convoking acquaintances

to collaborate and affect.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos