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Listen to Ellen reciting poetry.
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/-
Recent Posts
- Written On the Body, #28, November 24, 2020: November Highs and Lows
- Written On the Body #27, October 28, 2020 — The Uncertainty Principle
- Written on the Body, #26, October 6, 2020 — Another Poem
- Written on the Body #25, October 2, 2020 — Poem for the Times
- Written on the Body, #24 — September 10, 2020: Anniversaries and Changes
Recent Comments
- Lauren Burke on Written on the Body #23 August 10, 2020: The Incredible Shrinking….
- Joanne Traum Raffel on Biography
- Ruth Zilkha on Written On the Body 13, Nov. 24, 2019: Beautiful British Columbia
- Ruth Zilkha on Written On the Body 13, Nov. 24, 2019: Beautiful British Columbia
- Suzanne Foreman on Written on the Body, #15: January 12, 2020 — Welcome to the New Decade
Author Archives: Ellen
Written On the Body, #28, November 24, 2020: November Highs and Lows
As Thomas Hood wrote in an often-quoted poem,
| No sun — no moon! No morn — no noon — No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day. No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, No comfortable feel in any member — No shade, no shine, no |
Written On the Body #27, October 28, 2020 — The Uncertainty Principle
In physics, the uncertainty principle — articulated by Werner Heisenberg — states that we can know how fast something is going OR its exact location now, but NOT both at the same time. mataphorically, the uncertainty principle applies to all … continue reading
Written on the Body, #26, October 6, 2020 — Another Poem
I’m writing this soon after the previous post, but I want to share a wonderful reason to be thankful this (Canadian) Thanksgiving. I saw my oncologist this morning, and he is very pleased with the progress I am making with … continue reading
Written on the Body #25, October 2, 2020 — Poem for the Times
We have passed Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and two harvest festivals are approaching: Sukkot, the Jewish festival, on Oct. 2-4, and Thanksgiving in Canada on Oct. 12. With the planet in such chaos from wildfires, hurricanes, extinctions of … continue reading
Written on the Body, #24 — September 10, 2020: Anniversaries and Changes
September already! The summer has “hurried slowly” (in Margaret Laurence’s words) past.
But I want to talk about anniversaries of events that happened right at the end of August — August 31 — and a few other times throughout the … continue reading
Written on the Body #23 August 10, 2020: The Incredible Shrinking….
A few weeks ago, I might have said this phrase applies to me: “The incredible shrinking woman.” Despite eating well, I was losing a few pounds that I didn’t want to lose, and, as I noted, was dealing with some … continue reading
Written on the Body #22, July 18, 2020 — Corona Blues and Chemo-Therapy
The last post took a while to write because of so much happening in the world. This took a while because of internal events and changes.
First of all, today is my father’s birthday: born in 1907, he would have … continue reading
Written on the Body #21: June 15, 2020 — Pandemic of Racism and Police Violence
Note: I started this on May 29, but only completed it on June 15 — for reasons mentioned below.
It’s been a critical few weeks for the U.S., since the police killing of George Floyd, but the epidemic of racial … continue reading
Written on the Body, #20. May 13, 2020. Mother’s Day and Beyond
Hello — I know it’s been about a month since I’ve written; the days seem to slide by — as someone said, “day, day, day, day.” On the other hand, I am feeling well, and the time at home would … continue reading
Written On the Body, #19: April 12, 2020 – Pandemic continued
Easter and Passover — holidays usually marked by celebrations with loved ones, and this year only with the people we live with (if we do live with family or friends, not alone) and with many other friends and family on … continue reading