by J. Shapiro
Un jeune homme,
en general et (on peut dire) blond,
attend devant noi
dans la queue
by J. Shapiro
Un jeune homme,
en general et (on peut dire) blond,
attend devant noi
dans la queue
by the Shapiro Family
Linked verse in linked family: Johanna and Deane traveled for a year in Asia, including time at the Zen Daitokuji monastery in Kyoto, and a Chan monastery in Taroko Gorge, Taiwan after they married (ah, just celebrated their 48th anniversary!). During that time, they wrote a small book of poetry, including haiku. They noted that “It was wonderful to reconnect to that part of ourselves again, and to invite our (now adult) children Shauna, Jena, Josh (all of whom grew up in Laguna, attending Top of the World, Thurston, and Laguna Beach High School) to join us. We joke linked verse and linked family in love and poetry.”
by D and J Shapiro
Had idea of starting to re-write poetry with J, a reprise of our 1970-71 poetry book:
A
Daily ^ Musing
Johanna Shapiro, PhD
18 year old boy
No one expected him to die
But he did anyway
Blood everywhere
Social worker: I should have prepared mom better
Resident: We quickly went on with our rounds
Other patients to see
No choice
Social worker: He reminded me of my son
Resident: He reminded me of my brother
Too bad
Johanna Shapiro, PhD
2016
In the waiting room
people pretend to look at their smart phones
shush their kids
ruffle ancient magazines
glare at the receptionist
when they think she can’t see them
Really they are waiting –
to find out what’s wrong
to find out what will fix them
Really they are waiting
for hope
or the pretense of hope
Johanna Shapiro, PhD
If I climb into the same boat as you
Will it sink?
If I walk a mile in your shoes
Will I get blisters?
If my heart bleeds for you,
Will I need a transplant?
Johanna Shapiro, PhD
Small, innocuous, hardy plant
leaves so full of juice
I broke you this morning
to bring you miles from your
happy yard
so I could observe you
inspect you
dissect you
Now your apple-green
leaves are shriveling
I ask forgiveness
and hope I can carry you
home
as gently as a living thing
plant you again
and see you bloom
Johanna Shapiro, PhD
I live in the white world
but I walk in the red way
By the time I wanted
to take a long walk
off a short pier
I couldn’t walk at all
Johanna Shapiro, PhD
Have you ever noticed how
unprepared we are
for the problems life throws at us?
We are very unprepared
We are so unprepared
so beyond our comfort zone
it doesn’t make sense
Johanna Shapiro, PhD
In memoriam, Marcia Weinstein
What I wonder about
What I worry about
Is that we really didn’t talk about it
Enough
Or really at all
Only obliquely
The way light bounces off a mirror
At an angle
The way eyes inadvertently
Slant from an ugly face
All our conversations on the subject
Dribbled away
“Let’s wait and see”
“I just don’t know”
We told each other