A PANTOUM OF PINK IGUANAS

by Jeannie E. Roberts

Like pigs, flamingos, and roses in bloom 

the shade of lotus, spinel, and queen conch 

sheen of quartz, coral, and Himalayan salt 

the Galápagos’ iguanas wield pink 

In shades of lotus, spinel, and queen conch 

island reptiles conquered Wolf Volcano 

The Galápagos’ iguanas wield pink 

This rare species defeated extinction 

Island reptiles conquered Wolf Volcano 

where fierceness encircles the habitat 

This rare species defeated extinction 

They weather in nests above sea level 

Where fierceness encircles the habitat 

these iguanas face serious danger 

They weather in nests above sea level 

An expedition observed new babies 

These iguanas face serious danger 

Life’s revelations bid hopeful tidings 

An expedition observed new babies 

Scientists will monitor their safety 

Life’s revelations bid hopeful tidings 

Veiled lenses identified the hatchlings 

Scientists will monitor their safety 

The novelty brings news of survival 

Veiled lenses identified the hatchlings 

Years of research garnered discovery 

The novelty brings news of survival 

like pigs, flamingos, and roses in bloom

Jeannie E. Roberts has authored eight books, six poetry collections and two illustrated children's books. Her most recent collection is titled The Ethereal Effect—A Collection of Villanelles (Kelsay Books, 2022). She serves as a poetry editor for the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs and is a Best of the Net and an Eric Hoffer award nominee. 

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. 

Remembering Michael Nesmith(December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021)

by Jeannie E. Roberts

The Monkees Farewell Tour with Michael Nesmith & Micky Dolenz

Sunday, November 14, 2021, The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA

It was 1967, the year deafening screams overpowered the St. Paul 

Auditorium as The Monkees performed for us and thousands 

of other teeny boppers. I was eleven and lucky enough to attend 

the concert with my older sister, Mary, and our neighbor friends, 

Linda and Lisa. I recall wearing a mod-style dress, a shapeless 

shift with vertical stripes in red and yellow. My purse matched 

and attached to a faux gold, chain-link handle. I felt hip 

in my tween-modernness as I waited to hear my favorite song 

“Daydream Believer.” Instead, an audience of shrieking girls 

made inaudible the four young men on stage. Even so, 

their goofy antics offered a visual component to the performance. 

Like their TV show, the band members wore capes 

as they leapt across the proscenium with youthful effervescence. 

After an hour or more of ear-piercing noise, 

our hearing wasn’t quite the same. Still, it was worth it. 

I liked Michael, the tall, introspective Monkee, the 12-string 

electric guitar player who wore a forest green wool hat 

with pompom. Hired for his vast musical talent, he was also a poet. 

To me, Michael Nesmith seemed kind, thoughtful, and authentic, 

in the end, qualities that really matter.

Jeannie E. Roberts lives in Wisconsin, where she writes, draws and paints, and often photographs her natural surroundings. She’s authored seven books, five poetry collections and two illustrated children's books. Her newest collection, As If Labyrinth - Pandemic Inspired Poems, was released by Kelsay Books in April of 2021. Her poems appear in Anti-Heroin Chic, 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. 

THE USHERS OF AID

a villanelle by Jeannie E. Roberts

“Giant sequoias are hardy souls. They have stood their ground in California for as long as thousands of years, surviving drought, earthquakes and wildfire. With their thick bark and seemingly sky-high crowns, they have generally defied any fire that would turn them into kindling—and even thrived after a burn. The heat causes the trees’ pine cones to burst open and release seeds to the ground. But as hotter blazes like the KNP Complex fire—ignited by lightning on Sept. 9 and still uncontained—headed into the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in the Sierra Nevada, the trees needed some extra help. And they got it in the form of aluminum foil. Now, the largest tree, by volume, in the world is cradled in shiny, silvery wrap.” Carla Hall, Los Angeles Times, September 26, 2021. Photo: The historic General Sherman tree is wrapped in protective aluminum foil at Sequoia National Park in California. (Gary Kazanjian / AFP via Getty Images via Los Angeles Times)

The world is on fire, flames fill our home. 

The Earth’s rising heat ignites global burn. 

The ushers of aid fall to humans alone.

The forest floors smolder as embers roam. 

Infernos scorch fauna, flora, and fern. 

The world is on fire, flames fill our home.

Some trees are stalwart, persist as if stone—

most render ash, where Earth serves as urn. 

The ushers of aid fall to humans alone.

Encircled in tin, from large base to loam, 

General Sherman stood strong, ever firm.

The world is on fire, flames fill our home.

The famous sequoia thrived, held its own—

it beat the fierce grind, conquered the quern. 

The ushers of aid fall to humans alone.

Envision our planet polished like chrome, 

where vigor exists with each gleaming turn. 

The world is on fire, flames fill our home. 

The ushers of aid fall to humans alone.

Jeannie E. Roberts has authored five poetry collections and two illustrated children's books. Her work appears in Sky Island Journal, The New Verse News, Verse-Virtual, and elsewhere. Her newest collection, As If Labyrinth—Pandemic Inspired Poems, was released by Kelsay Books in April of 2021. She is a Best of the Net award nominee.

IN UFO NEWS, A VILLANELLE

by Jeannie E. Roberts

 

A spherical shape was noted in flight. 

The object was dark; it moved back and forth. 

Scanned above water, it dropped out of sight.

The strange craft was tracked with IR* at night. 

The vehicle plunged, then altered its course. 

A spherical shape was noted in flight.

The video’s rendered in raw black and white. 

It splashed. It splashed, the audio reports. 

Scanned above water, it dropped out of sight.

Mark bearing and range, strategic advice. 

The U.S. Defense confirmed the clip’s source. 

A spherical shape was noted in flight.

 

Insight has teamed to discern greater heights. 

The Pentagon’s deemed it a special task force. 

Scanned above water, it dropped out of sight.

Intrigue orbits the phenomena of life. 

An archive exists, the “UAP* Drawer.” 

A spherical shape was noted in flight. 

Scanned above water, it dropped out of sight.

  

*Author's Notes: IR: Infrared; UAP: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.

Jeannie E. Roberts has authored seven books, including her newest chapbook As If Labyrinth—Pandemic Inspired Poems (Kelsay Books, 2021). She's listed in the Poets & Writers Directory and is a poetry editor of the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs. When she’s not reading, writing, or editing, you can find her drawing and painting, or outdoors photographing her natural surroundings. Roberts is an animal lover, a nature enthusiast, an equal rights advocate, and an ally of marginalized people.