Poetry by Karen Luke Jackson
for Juniper
Her skirt billows as she skips the graveled lane,
chases a squirrel across the lawn
and up a flaming maple, tumbles
into a hammock which swallows her curls,
swaddles her legs, this fawn-eyed child
with a page-boy cut who bubbles song.
Somehow her heart knows
that she, too, belongs here
with the redwing blackbird
whose call she returns,
with the wooly worm
she cheers across the road.
Karen Luke Jackson draws inspiration for her writing from oral history, nature, and clowning. Her poems have appeared in Ruminate, Broad River Review (Ron Rash Poetry Award), Ruminate, One, Atlanta Review, and Channel Magazine. The author of two poetry collections, Karen resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains. www.karenlukejackson.com
