Weavers Words

Ode to a Crossword Puzzle

Nightly, I take you to bed, relying on your black and white squares to quiet my mind. You soothe the rough edges of the day as sorrowful news follows me to sleep. Mulling the cells of your grid, the nib of my pen scratches letters in small boxes as if your humble blueprint could staunch heartaches that haunt my sleepbullets, drones, sufferers under rubbleand for a few minutes each night, lulled inside your neat borders, neat as sheets tucked tight, I find balance in an unbalanced world.

—Sara Wenger

Editor’s Note: This poem was written “a long time ago” by frequent Weavers Words contributor Jan Jee Bean. She sent it after hearing of the death of Weavers Way Mt. Airy staffer Terry Powell on May 15.

After I’m Gone

You might say, “What do I care, I’ll be gone?” into the darkly beckoning realm.

Like a photograph: a recalled fragment. Inert, cold.

Or like a mirror next to a rose. I will be like that.

The living will still bloom brightly among the thorns. The stars will still decorate the dazzling black ceiling like pearls.

But notice my lingering potency. It no longer comes from what I generate. Rather, from the joy or bitterness I evoke in the living.

Our Revised Submission Guidelines:

Let me, therefore, live today as if my form stands guard on the future: saying, “I matter.”

Let the living say, “He cared that water fills the pond; that monarchs congregate like shaggy drapery in jungles; that bright, colored fins dart through the stony boughs of coral trees; even that the bees still sting.”

Most of all, though, let them say, “He was my friend.” “We guided each other.” “He left behind this smile.”

—Jan Jee Bean

1. Original poems must be of a reasonable length. Lengthy poems that are the subject of a reflection will be excerpted.

2. The Shuttle editor has the final say as to whether a poem or reflection is suitable for publication.

3. The number of poems or reflections in an issue is determined by the amount of space available.

4. Members and nonmembers are welcome to submit.

5. Email your submissions to editor@weaversway.coop and put “Poetry submission (or reflection) for Shuttle” in the subject line.