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Wednesday, March 23, 2022

ROOMS OF HOPE

by Jeannie E. Roberts




—for Amelia Uzun and the Ukrainian Refugees
 

The greenery blooms 
holds truths 
lifts like hands 
seeks the light 
the prayer plant flowers 
as the cyclamen thrives 
they shelter in safety 
in the luster of peaceful living

A young girl blooms 
holds truths 
lifts her voice 
as if a prayer 
the bomb shelter lightens 
the gathering listens 
the room warms as one 
with a song from the film Frozen 

A concert hall blooms
holds truths 
a young girl lifts her voice 
where notes effloresce 
ascend in national anthem 
as if a prayer 
in the light 
she sings for the luster 
of peaceful living once again 


Jeannie E. Roberts has authored seven books, five poetry collections and two illustrated children's books. Her most recent collection As If Labyrinth - Pandemic Inspired Poems was released in 2021 by Kelsay Books. Her poems appear in Panoply, Sky Island Journal, The New Verse News, and elsewhere. She’s an animal lover, a nature enthusiast, a Best of the Net award nominee, and a poetry editor of the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs