5 Poems by Janet Butler

shower

Silky waters glide
discrete but sure
over shoulders
around and down the crevice
of breast
to nestle in the short wild grass that shields desire.
A trickle of small tongues
escapes in giddy dance 
iridescent bubbles that tumble
thigh and calf
to swoon, ecstatic, at my feet
then whipped, suddenly,  in whirlpools
down that black hole
of drain.


Asian lover

You bring gifts of indirection
like your famous watercolors

all half-tones that fade to mysteries
hills that lead to Shangri-La.  

Your thoughtful glance weighs, observes
judges my words against

a backdrop that opens behind my
too candid eyes

your side glance a sweep
that gathers

nuances hiding
behind the obvious.


From the East

Morning rises in pastel tints
a silk scarf fluttering in light winds.

I hear a distant twang, finger on string
vibrating waves of sound

rolling the centuries, high-pitched melodies
from eastern skies blood red.

Harmonies of rule burnished
by submissive hands

the East flashing from your eyes
soft but distant.


Hunger

I inhale the night.
Stars crowd me.
I feel their prick, their sharp edges
cut me.  They carve my heart
into semblance of you.

Sky stretches within me.
I sense the pull of darkness,
like a hungry wolf it prowls
nose to the ground, hungry
for you.


Night rains II

Rain splatters.

Dark puddles spill boundaries
and lake streets.

A mirror world bobbles 
lit by neon fish.

Headlights glow, soft eyes
searching kindred spirits below.


Bionote

Janet Butler teaches Test Prep in San Francisco and lives in Alameda with Fulmi, a lovely Spaniel mix she rescued in Italy. where she lived for many years, and brought back with her.   Some current or forthcoming publications are Pirene's Fountain, The Chaffey Review, The Rampallian, Miller's Pond, Poetalk, and Ascent Aspirations. "Searching for Eden" was published by Finishing Line Press in January, 2012.  "Upheaval" was one of three winning selections in Red Ochre Lit's 2012 Chapbook Contest.  One of her drawings was chosen as cover art for the Winter, 2013 issue of Poetalk, the poetry journal of the Berkeley Bay Area Poets' Coalition. <janetleebutler@hotmail.com>