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Category: poetry

Outdoor Rink

February 12, 2023 ~ joanvinallcox ~ 1 Comment
On the porch, at night in winter:
A street away,
the scrape of skates,
the slap of a puck. 
winter night,

Another Lament

February 7, 2023 ~ joanvinallcox ~ Leave a comment
The terrible sting of sugar
doesn’t erase
my parents smiling into the camera, 
a cemetery behind them, 
my grandparents gravestone 
beside them. 

They all lie there 
now. 
A winter path

Lament 10: Anger

February 2, 2023 ~ joanvinallcox ~ Leave a comment
Anger is easier than being
sad,
like a boil you can ignore
till it erupts.

Grief locks
your time
into a blur of absence
that can't be released.. 
back of an old hand

Lament 9: Necessary Rituals

January 30, 2023 ~ joanvinallcox ~ Leave a comment
All my necessary rituals
hold me,
keep me
standing. 

All my necessary rituals
keep me
rigid
and stuck. 

All my necessary rituals
are collapsing
letting me fall,
bruising me. 

What rituals
can support
what I need
now?
Necessary Rituals,

Lament 8: On Writing

January 25, 2023 ~ joanvinallcox ~ Leave a comment
Writing at the raw edge
opens the dimness
for a brief glimpse 
of my now. 

Writing at the raw edge
unlocks the gates
of my whirling
for a moment. 

Writing at the raw edge
spews my dark lava
onto a screen
for a moment of now. 
Confusion

This Bleak Midwinter

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 ~ joanvinallcox ~ Leave a comment
Christmas lights the colour of twilight,
and a heritage nativity set, - 
A bleak celebration avoiding
plastic Santas or plastic regrets

Awaiting a new year, watching changes
from remembered winters,
listening to the noise of fools
heard on the tv news.

The Colours of Twilight

December 31, 2022 ~ joanvinallcox ~ Leave a comment
The colours of twilight

“Holy Uncertainty”

December 29, 2022 ~ joanvinallcox ~ Leave a comment


Living not-knowing 
groping in mystery
gazing blindly at
rare shafts of twilight,
this liminal time is always

and now. 

December 28, 2022

December 29, 2022January 5, 2023 ~ joanvinallcox ~ Leave a comment
Haiku

As read by my daughter, Meryle

Saturday Morning at Home, After Spending a Night in My Friend’s New Home

December 18, 2022December 18, 2022 ~ joanvinallcox ~ 1 Comment
My Study Window
Words shape in
the feel of rooms remembered,
when,
suddenly -

I know I’m awake
& the day waits. 

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joanvinallcox

joanvinallcox

Joan Vinall-Cox, Ph.D. is a lifelong learner, retired communications professor, rabid reader and poet who has taught in both the college and university systems. Her Ph.D., in 2004 was an Autoethnographic Arts-Based Narrative Inquiry focused on moving from technophobia to technophilia. She is a widow from a happy marriage and a mother to a strong and kind daughter. Her interests include Centering Prayer, Multiple Intelligences, Attention Deficit Disorder and its connection to creativity, Jung, Campbell’s Monomyth, and Arts-Based Narrative Inquiry

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