HEY, DEE--

 

HEY, DEE—HEY GRADUATE!

             For Deanna Victoria Pappas

                        9 June 2026


Hey, girl—young woman—Well done!

You carry so much love, and I kinda

wanna look at a few of these things

on the day you’re about to graduate--


but first, I just pruned the pine tree

out front, the one you’ve been styling

on your own, these growing years.

Styling is your specialty, well--


your genius. And you, girl, your

genius IQ is off the charts. It’s

in your eyes—not your make-up

eyes, your inner eyes, the eyes


no one can see. The eyes we all see,

when we say, Deanna. We don’t just say,

Deanna, either. We say, DEEZUS,

and it sounds like Jesus. That’s


what we see, that’s what we say--

because it’s what we’re thinking

when we say, Hey Girl! What’s up!

Style. Well, style is genius. You


did the work to get you here.

Now, girl. You’re about to find out

how much more there is. Let it find you.

When it does, you better believe it.


Love, Gpa




KAREN

KAREN

Family fabric

Student of steadfast color

A thread of being


Jim Bodeen

1 May 2026

DESIRE'S FIRE-DREAMING

Desire's fire-dreaming

Under its own volition

drops at my doorstep


Jim Bodeen

25 April 2026

FORAGING BIRDS

Foraging birds from

elsewhere come here for thistles

shitting their grass seed


Jim Bodeen

21 April 2026

What is Cream of Wheat?

What is Cream of Wheat?

Why does it atract peaches

and maple syrup?


Jim Bodeen

20 April 2026

Storypath/Cuentocamino: : THE DAY OF MY BIRTH, THE DAY OF THE BOMB

Storypath/Cuentocamino: : THE DAY OF MY BIRTH, THE DAY OF THE BOMB:   THE DAY OF MY BIRTH, THE DAY OF THE BOMB                          for Mayu Kaneko and M. G. Sheftall ● He takes us back in time...

CHAIN SAW OIL, BIRD FEEDER, SWIMMING POOL

 

CHAIN SAW OIL, BIRD FEEDER, SWIMMING POOL


        The one subject that is truly worthy of a Christian poet:

        The great Mystery of God, revealing his mercy to us in Christ.

                            Thomas Merton, Art & Spirituality


God for Troublemakers and Tom Merton.

What the chain saw makes possible.

Cut birch limbs fire length, bind them

with rope and display them with stones.

Tough beauty to throw or burn. Find a way

to say you’re not too old. The poet,

if he is one, goes to work. His chain saw

gets him a pass with neighbors and

New World Sparrows. Gayle walks Lucy

by garden porch on extended leash.

May she not get caught and fall. Birds,

here, foraging, bathing, frolicking.

They must mate after their bath,

pretending it’s Sunday afternoon.

Their crowned striped heads shine

full of rich Nyger seeds. High quality

thistles, these, spilled seeds from

feeder by the Finches. We’re with them,

Karen and I. We travel in different

circles from Melania and Don.

My cookies for Camp Hope tomorrow

are counted and stored. King Arthur’s

Best Chip Cookie. Two sticks

Land O’Lakes Butter, three kinds

of chocolate, calling for two full cups

of oatmeal pulsed into flour. A cup

of raisins. Protein breakfast for dessert

following the meal of Sloppy Joe’s

and Cole Slaw. Karen’s in her chair.

The cantaloupe and melon

I cut fresh came from this Earth

which we love dearly. All is not

well in the Gulf of Hormuz.

Constant improvising to fix

problems they themselves created.

I think I mentioned the swimming pool.

I’ll get there. I try for 32 minutes

acting as much like mating birds

as I can imagine. This life, this

blessed, blessed life.


Jim Bodeen

11-15 April 2026