Staying Hungry

Annie and Beth

—Poems and Photos by Loch Henson, Diamond Springs, CA

POEMS BEFORE BREAKFAST

Staying hungry while you write
may lead to some interesting
imagery.

That’s why poetry comes
before breakfast in my house.

The not-so-subtle charms of
pancakes and bacon aside, the
temptation to evade your own
insight grows stronger as a morning
progresses.

In those pre-dawn quiet hours,
while my partner and the dogs are
still taking turns snoring, I come to my muse
with open hands and ask
for one more favor.

________________________

HOME


A nest built of


   lichen and spider webs


sits, sculpted and holding


together on a branch


   just well enough


to host baby hummingbirds.

Home is a


   delicate concept,


meant to be held together


   just well enough


to host and raise young.

When examined


   closely, the gossamer


threads seem so easily 


destroyed.

It is not a false


   comfort offered the baby bird.


How else does one


   cultivate the will to fly?

________________________

AFFINITY FOR BLUE

I come by it honestly,


my affinity for blue.

It’s a birthright.


Tahoe’s shades, from


smutty to cerulean,


informed my early imagination.

Where I used to call home


is now where I get to visit


on ‘special’ occasions,


few and far between, and


short…unsatisfying, but


adequate in the absence of


the deepest hues of my 


most preferred shade elsewhere.

Twilight skies, and cobalt


specimens aside, there are


so few opportunities to bask


in the lush loveliness of


the proper blue.

 Lake Tahoe

NEWS AT 11:00

Sneaking sips of
"the good air"
is not enough for us.

We, who falter at
intersections, aware
of the power of
divergence,

turn our backs
to the polluted tides
and struggle to swim
against the current.

Vintage dispositions
disguising radical urges,
we capture with words
and dreams
and paintings

the colorful contrast to
the shadow side of
brightened, whitened
(bleached, parched)
News at 11:00.

_______________________

HUNGRY GHOSTS

Hungry ghosts push my shopping cart.


I don’t know what to feed them to


make them be quiet and go away.

The smoky burn of scotch…single malt, please…


Incense (sage and cedar)


a wee nip of pomegranate juice, or 


perhaps some peppered chocolate?


Tobacco, or spices?

What will appease them today?


What will lay their noisy chorus to rest?

It’s not the goods they want; it’s the


attention.  No wine can pass skeletal


jaws and be tasted; no smoke can be


scented or savored with lungs that are


themselves in dust.

They envy the juice of life that we


still retain, ours by birth, but on borrowed time.

So lift the glass,


   light the candle,
 

     burn the incense


         and lay the chocolate on your tongue,


lest someday you join the chorus and


become just another hungry ghost.

______________________

Today's LittleNip:

INVITATION

You are cordially invited


to make full use of your


remarkable intuition,


your unique perspective,


and your charged enthusiasm.

“How?” you ask…I’m glad


you asked.

It doesn’t matter.

Work where you work.


Play at things that


make you happy.


Love.

Do these often.


Shine as bright as you dare.



The world needs you,


now as much as ever,


to accept the invitation you


were given at birth…to


BE YOURSELF.

RSVP daily.
 
______________________

‪Loch Henson is an El Dorado County native, born and raised in South Lake Tahoe. She currently works as a bookkeeper to support her horse and alpaca habits. Exploring the threads of thoughts and emotions within poetry is a persistent fascination, and she is becoming more active in sharing her work with others, including some of the many poetry groups in Placerville.‬

Loch writes: The photo below is of me and my horse, Willie. ‪Willie is an excellent therapy horse, and in my other day job, I do Equine Assisted Therapy (animal-assisted psychotherapy for people, with horses on the treatment team). ‬And then ‪it took three years to make the decision to jump in, but I did finally did get to adopt alpacas. They've been with us coming on two years: "The Girls" are Annie, Pumpkin and Beth. We also have a llama named Dolly.  ‬

Welcome to the Kitchen table, Loch, and don't be a stranger!

—Medusa

Willie and Loch