high above enriches

luncheon at the inn at spanish head

tenth story windows overlook

sweep on incoming waves

and irregular sand beach

for miles south

with lifts of evergreen hills

couples below walking

holding hands among driftwood

allowing white foam to caress

bare ankles and take them

to distances and lengths of time

that replenish perspective

and deepen commitment

mj toddler aware

(Kelley Island, Lake Erie, 1944)

camp songs and spirituals

sung in various keys

with doubtful harmonies

but deep feelings of sharing

around a campfire among the rocks

with vivid sparks leaping

to the black sky

and falling back, fading

to nothing

only memories

of belonging

                        mjNordgren  10/25/2021  n

gold moon song

gold moon song

autumn moon

full chested as

an operatic bass

rising above the horizon

orange gold, gargantuan

even stealing across a pond

to create a duet

a huge, haunting

song of the night

accompanied by strains

of purple cloud

little leather books

little leather books

three inches wide

three and three quarter

inches tall

dark olive-green covers

darker with age

and fading to brown

at the edges

and within, The Tempest

Stevenson’s  Will o’ the Mill

The Coming of Arthur by Tennyson

treasures given by a friend

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ah, what a morning

pastel pre-dawn

muted by mist

over fields of fog

hiding autumn arrays

emerging energized

by outlandish orange orb

                        mjNordgren  10/19/2021  n

let ‘other’ speak

i write each day for hours, pouring

my intimate insights and conversations

with patients and friends

and anguished strangers

into the dialogue of characters

hoping to help us learn

to empathize

with ‘other’

september sunrise

faint yellow
resting on smudged orange
and shy pink on hazy violet
atop somber blue quieting
promise of sky-blue-pink
settled on dawn-promise indigo
of far distant hills

at sea

i am so much less

than i dreamed of being

hoped i might be

but i have loved

and been loved
joy is enough

written at sea from Costa Rica to Fort Lauderdale, January 2019

howl

i watch depression grow

as reality takes some lives

and alters function in others

loved and ‘undeserving’

of such pain

and again, personal fear

and anger blind so many

to recognizing others

as fosters of our best

selves needed to combat

if never conquer

entropy and loss

we’ve allowed

the despairing wolf

within us all

to howl

even more grateful

even more grateful

retesting to reassure

gathering to joy

seeing love well

in each of us

knowing how we’ve missed the hugs

the delicious smoked pork lunch

the teasing of the waiter-son

of a beloved friend

the talk and laughter

laughter and talk

hours spent remembering

catching up

laughing

family is my world

humbled

astonished

with each prayer

that the creator

of the universe

is listening

to mine

In Memory of Shannon Brown

Shannon Brown

 I have terrible news

sit down before you listen

our friend…

gone, the quirky stories

of a teacher who saw

beyond the pigtails

and ponytails

and dirty nails

and tongues sticking out

as little ones labored

at mastering letters printed

by pencils as long

as their forearms

to the unique person

promise of each child             mjNordgren  8/17/21 

so many alone

so many alone

bared of beach grass

sand dimpled

by multiple footprints

yet we feel alone

as spent waves

wash against

our human soles

gentlest rain

fog of tiny mist drops

suspended in air

slowly dampening arid earth

thirsty grass and trees

with early-browned leaves

sighing their thanks

do i know you?

 childhood—an odd time

shared with magical friends

and monsters who carve

an exclusive niche in the history

of our world

and watched over

by adults we cannot comprehend

who later claim to know us

then as we do not know ourselves

granddaughter Robyn and mj grew up in different worlds

Responses to CAGED

“The narrative you’ve written is so full of wonderful details! I can see their world.” S. Field, Oregon

“I got your newest book, CAGED, on Monday and had it read by Tuesday. I couldn’t put it down.” R. Wiser, Oregon

“Your writing and poetry is excellent mj. I explored your work and am impressed. I love the way you wrote about your husband…very moving and poignant and funny which is an unusual combination of talents. I am fascinated by the Nandria series description as well…and you have written a lot of books! Writers in the Grove and the events you create are truly creating community. Thank you for reaching out and congrats on the publication of CAGED! C. Hanlon, Oregon

be still, and know

when in doubt, he advised, shout

but that seemed to me ass-backwards

not shout, but better to go quiet

to observe

to be aware of what is around you

to tune into the rhythms

of what holds your world

in this moment of balance

when in doubt, you would want

to learn, and it’s said

you can never learn

while talking

only when listening

CAGED: Sunday Morning Dinner Rolls

The NANDRIA Series include a few twentieth century recipes at the end of each novel. Kathi Helwig, DVM, shows how to make Nandria’s mother-in-law’s favorite treat as given in CAGED.

Sunday Morning Dinner Rolls

• ½ cup margarine (melted)

• ½ tsp salt

• 2 eggs (beaten) 

• ½ cup sugar

• ½ cup milk 

• ¼ cup margarine (melted)

• 3 cups flour 

• ½ cup sugar

• 3 tsp baking powder

• 1½  - 2 tsp cinnamon

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Quickly mix melted margarine, eggs and milk, then add to dry ingredients. Mix and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface.

Roll out ¼  inch thick in a rectangular shape.

Mix ¼ cup melted margarine, sugar and cinnamon, then spread onto rolled dough. Roll up the dough like a jelly roll. Cut slices ½ inch wide and lay cut surface down on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from sheet within 3 – 4 minutes. Makes 2½ dozen.

Renewal

tears in my eyes

running down my cheeks

as i just listened and watched

Bells of the Cascades and Cathedral Bells

complete their handbell concert

at the national meeting in Arizona

such amazing skill and beauty

the final piece filled me

with the hope for peace

that reality sometimes hammers

into me that it can never be

but it can

with creative beauty

as in Compton’s final piece

it truly can

CAGED is Published!

The third novel in NANDRIA Series is up and running on Amazon.com this week. I am so grateful to Bill Helwig of Graphic Ingenuity for another delightful cover and for setting up the text in publication form.

In rural Missouri of 1940, children sneak close to the swing in the Minnick’s back yard to listen to Nandria read Barrie’s “Peter Pan” to her biracial baby daughter Rose. Most have little schooling and beg Nandria to teach them to read. But the white community wants nothing more to do with “uppity” Negros and complain to Nandria’s father-in-law at the fair on the 4th of July.

Yet it is the children’s rudimentary ability to read that warns the daredevil motorcyclist of attempts on his life and leads friends and neighbors to search for Nandria and Rose when they go missing.

cover art for CAGED

CAGED: 3rd novel in the NANDRIA Series set in rural Missouri in 1940s