Here is the latest installment of Poet’s Corner, presented by the Edmonds-based EPIC Poetry Group.

Read My Lips

If what you say
is only mouthed
without a sound
does it become
less important?

If I don’t understand
the soundless
movement of your lips
will we enter a moment
of confusion and mistrust?

When words are quiet
your eyes will tell me
and I will kiss
those lips of silence
and know what
I need to hear.

Diane Naab

~ ~ ~ ~

Wandering

Wandering thoughts

Memories jumbled
like a jar of buttons

Some colorful and shiny
with a story to tell
and some needing
to be forgotten
or perhaps kept
for a lonely night

And I remember
a blooming garden

where you picked a bouquet
and arranged each
fragrant color
for me

and then sat alone
in silence

Now I sit alone

my mind wanders…

one button at a time

Diane Naab

~ ~ ~ ~

Contests

School competitions
featuring awkward
dance routines and
breathless renditions of
“Climb Every Mountain”

and…

contests pitting young
women against one
another vying for
the same fella who
doesn’t have a clue

and…

competitions at a
county fair with
blue ribbon winners
for pie, jam, and
crocheted pot holders

and now…

coming full circle
we’re cheering
our children on
as they stumble
with their own
renditions
and creations
hoping to be
rewarded
for a job well done.

Diane Naab

~ ~ ~ ~~

Diane Naab is an artist, former art gallery owner, world traveler, and published author, now living in the Seattle area.

Her poetry and short stories were published in four consecutive issues of the annual literary review, Inside Passages, in southeast Alaska. She is a member of, and has submitted writing to, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA).

Her literary journey includes attending writing workshops conducted by the PNWA, BARN Writers at Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, the former Seattle7Writers, Tacoma Community College, and Gamble Creek Studio.