Jam Today
“The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today.” White Queen to Alice, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll.
Last season’s
peach and gooseberry
sweet-tart on the tongue
spread on toast, muffins,
bagel with raisins
and cinnamon –
spice of the sabbath
now her body is jamming
itself, cells stuck and clogged
blocking the vital
spring again
flowers jam in the garden,
jazz musicians gone wild,
cacophony of tulips
trill of daffodil
violin tones of violets
and weeping redbud,
one gooseberry bush
bursting into flower
soft fruit
longing
to be picked.
Ellen S. Jaffe, 2016
for Sharon H. Nelson (2 January 1948 – 12 June 2016)
published in Persimmon Tree, Summer 2017
http://www.persimmontree.org/v2/summer-2017/international-poets/-
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Author Archives: Ellen
Happy New Year
Here we are, on the second day of 2017, which like the first has dawned bright and sunny, at least in the Hamilton/Toronto area, and despite the bad news in other parts of the world. Let’s keep focused on Leonard … continue reading
Holidays and New Year
Good news — my website, which was hacked earlier this year by unknown assailants, has now been fixed, updated, and given more security features by the excellent web-designer, Mark Bednarowski, who specializes in Word Press. You can contact him here… continue reading
Fifty Shades of Green
Green Abun- Dance
June again. Spring has sprung (despite its late arrival this year) and is rapidly springing into summer. After the bleak greys and whites (yes, there probably are fifty words for snow) and long hours of darkness of … continue reading
Words and Images
Hi everyone —
A cold week in January in Hamilton — and over much of the east coast.
Please check out the beautiful and haunting images created for my poem “Water Children” by Steven McCabe, on his site, www.poemimage.wordpress.com. This … continue reading
Reflections on Newtown, Connecticut
REFLECTIONS ON NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT
Like everyone who has heard this news, I am shocked (yet again), horrified, and deeply saddened by the murders of 20 children, 6 teachers, and the shooter’s mother — as well as his own suicide. One … continue reading
Places — part two
Pond outside St.John’s
Last month I wrote from Newfoundland and Labrador, and now I am in Vancouver, at the other end of the country. Returning from St. John’s, my plane was delayed by fog and then by Hurricane Sandy — … continue reading
Place in writing and in life: geography, memory, story
Several weeks ago I gave a talk to the Lit Chat group in Hamilton on the role of place in writing – in memory and in story. This included imaginary and mythical places – the land of fairy tales, “once … continue reading
The Value of Poetry
Late summer and early fall….a good time for taking stock and new beginnings. August 31 is also the anniversary (yahrzeit, in Yiddish) of my mother’s death in 2009, so a special time for reflection. Earlier this week, I … continue reading
working family stories and treasures
- Mary Axelrod lived here
Concurrent with the Jewish Literary Festival is an ongoing project called WFST, about the working lives of the Jewish community in Hamilton. The project is taking place in various locations around Hamilton. There will a … continue reading
cBook Launch for Letters & Pictures from the Old Suitcase
- Fan by Holly Briesmaster, at a group exhibit by “Sixis” at the Papermill Gallery, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, in March 2012.
Please join Ellen at the Book Launch for Letters & Pictures from the Old Suitcase: at the 3rd Hamilton … continue reading