Three Poems by Deborah Petersen: "We, Scent," "The Portal Called the Kitchen Window," and "What a Cast of Characters"

Deborah Petersen is from Bluffton, Indiana and is president of the Poetry Society of Indiana. She says: "What first influenced me as a poet, were the prayers of my childhood. Then, I became intoxicated by the complexity and cadence of William Shakespeare’s works. The most recent years have been influenced by the writings of the Persian Poet and Sufi Mystic, Rumi, and by the Japanese Haiku Master, Basho. And, as a source of inspiration, I study the many languages of the Divine, the tongues of transcendence. As artists, I believe, we are mere conduits. When I am in the moment of being a conduit, I find myself in an omniscience, a moment of vastness and grace, a connection to a universal wisdom and discerning perception.

We, Scent

You have entered into me
--eyes closed, quiet, breath only.

The rain-soaked flannel of your enthusiasm
The earthy red tomato of your anger
The butterscotch of your melancholy
The sweet licorice of your naked skin
The industrial smoke-stench of your distance
The hickory fire of your caresses and gentleness
The spring lilac of your limitless love for me.

With you
In me
The scent of colors
The wisps breathing in the then, the now.

I see you
I hear you
I touch you
I taste you
Yet,
When I smell you
We are of one breath, complete.




The Portal Called the Kitchen Window

          Cool cool breeze
Gracing this space with the love scent of
Basil
Soil
Lemon
Dancing
Bringing the Moment
The right here right now
Eternity.

Honeybees, butterflies,
And black ants
Busy on the one side
And, I, chopping fresh, luscious
Tomatoes & cucumbers & rosemary
On the other
Our work Our play

Pay attention.
As the sun comes round the
Corner bringing the next
Hour
And the work-play
On both sides.

Blessed Be.



What a Cast of Characters

Bunion, oh, bunion
Where art thou from?
You and your own delicious power
Force me to sensible shoes
No heels.
You redesign my fashion statement
Ending an era.

I come to you
And all your friends
Kicking, fighting, and scratching
to this long list of physical changes
as the days go by.

The breasts making their pilgrimage to
my belly, wide and thick;
The Kleenex tissue now an accessory;
The hair the colors of many stories;
The flab wings ready for flight at my armpits;
This butt that has rocked the babies has oozed up my back;
The nose and ears that overwhelm when my
Face reflects in the mirror.

You, oh wonderful bunion,
Welcome to the cast of characters
In this drama of my life.

~Deborah Peterson