Obscurity

red
slides across my tongue
glass cold against my trembling lips
quiets spirit tormentors

one more sip
frantic, raging souls
sing, dance
there is no peace

another glass of red
reckless, wicked demons
play the blues
world is well

--Bonnie Pignatiello Leer

Eternally Yours

Check out my little book of poetry. It's about being a mom, dealing with life and living in a community where there's more farms than any building higher than two stories.

Eternally Yours

Sermon

he speaks to you through
your restless heart

my son crawls into
my lap
our foreheads touch
grin on his face

he calls you to take risks
try something new
step out
face the world

my son drags his toy car
through my hair
across my chest

there will be a moment
you will know
the right thing
to do

hallelujah notes start
my son hums with me
while i sing

he will call you
you only have to open
your heart
listen

my son grabs at my face
he laughs
i quietly try to dodge him
he smiles
kisses my cheek
“i love you, mommy.”
i love you too.

amen

@bonnie pignatiello leer
(Published in Juice 2007)

January

wine
red in glass
tilted towards my lips
silk
edged with small bubbles
passes over my tongue
bites slightly
down my throat

one more drink
and then another
bite
disappears
glass empties
wine warm
in my stomach

another glass
one more
bottle disappears
no one notices
but me

soon
i also disappear
descend into wine
red with passion
empty bottle
empty glass
and i am
invisible

@bonnie pignatiello leer
(Published in Juice 2007)

friends

she flies out of the door
runs through the grass
kicking up crackling leaves
laughing
smiling at the sun
straight to the back yard fence
where is the little boy
that lives there?

she stares over the fence
and waits
he doesn’t see her
standing there
he isn’t looking through his window
isn’t waiting for her

she sighs
looks down
lower lip pushed out
he isn’t coming
she turns around
and slowly wanders
back to the house

@bonnie pignatiello leer
(Published in Juice 2007)

Green Tracks

he pondered his train set
wooden tracks
angry
“i want green tracks!”
but wooden tracks are better
i don’t know where to buy
green tracks
green plastic tracks

drive in rain
one toy store
then another
my son quiet and anxious
in the little boy aisle
i see wooden tracks
grey tracks
no green tracks

we finally buy
grey tracks
one step closer
to green

i help him snap tracks
together
show him new plastic
train cars
uncertain
he plays with it for awhile

bored
he goes back to play with
the wooden tracks
travels our living room
one track at a time
i put the new train
new plastic grey tracks
in a box
in the closet

@Bonnie Pignatiello Leer
(Published in The Wilderness House Literary Review, Fall 2007)

Alarm Clock

just after dawn small feet
climb into bed
next to me
bounce up and down
small hands open curtains

mommy—look!
the sky is pink!
what's that sound?
the birds are singing!

little body down
curls up at my back
waiting for juice and toast
the day begins

@bonnie pignatiello leer
(Published in The Wilderness House Literary Review, January 2008

Stealing Breath

awake in the dark
I listen
her labored breathing
grips me

I am afraid to sleep
fearing silence
while I'm dreaming

I roll over and stare at her
she sleeps
full moon light
sparkling on her nose

I want to cradle her
until she wakes

instead

I roll back and stare at the ceiling
wait for the
seal cough
breathing machine nearby

deep breath
I count ceiling shadows

©bonnie pignatiello leer
(Published in Juice 2008)

still summer

quiet morning
except for the noisy birds
in their breakfast conference

from my kitchen door
i see
foggy soybean fields
dressed in summer green
corn stalks
reaching toward
the july sun
rabbits
scrounging around
under the bird feeder

i hum along
with the
music in my head
wait for
the sound of small feet
running down the hall

@Bonnie Pignatiello Leer
(published in Cram3)

morning music

patchwork fields
in morning grey shades
of green and brown
color my window

the heavy air
is damp
from last night's storm
and smells of
freshly overturned earth

morning ripens
birds sing for their breakfast
welcome
the broken sunrise
creeps over clouds
that look like distant mountains

music
wanders through my thoughts
as it always does
and I wonder
where will I touch the world
today?

@Bonnie Pignatiello Leer
(Published in Juice 2008)

Easter Morning

she twirls across the kitchen floor
her Easter dress flares around her
flower petals
open to welcome the sun

spinning back and forth
shoes click on the tile
she sees herself
reflected
in the oven door
a ballerina on the stage
Cinderella at the ball.

@Bonnie Pignatiello Leer 3/08
(Accepted for Juice 2008)

long trip home

empty corn fields
grey snow patches
salt etched pavement
this brown world
a blur in my window

yesterday music
light and sound explosion
steel strings and microphones
sweet, sad, and angry

today
just brain images
and silence

where does my finger
touch humanity?
is the world like water
or sand?
my life impression
words and images
soul of art

this brown world is dead
and cold
the horizon flat

the pictures are
all that remain

-bonnie pignatiello leer
(Accepted for Cram vol 2)

night silence

night silence
listening for child sounds
sleep talk
quiet coughs

roll out of bed
carefully step over
sleeping dogs
toy dinosaurs
miniature zebras

my son sleeps
breathes softly
swims with whales
flies with eagles
roams penguin ice

my nervous heart
calm
back to bed
sleep
dark forest dreams
placid lakes

©bonnie pignatiello leer

Gone Summer

gone summer
gently embrace me
then slip away

spotlight fades
and I'm alone
with only the
drum beat resonating
your hippie dance

I've lost summer
my heart is filled
with holes
acoustic echoes
rain washed shadows

my memories
pictures of you

spring promises
you might return
warm sunlight
starlight music
where my loneliness
fades
among warm smiles
and gift dreams
come to life

bonnie pignatiello leer 1/08

What i am

i see through walls
walk on top of them
grow little flowers all over
and then break down the walls
i am seven years old
dress teddy bears as princesses
wear pink high heels
and steal mom’s makeup
i am five years old
fight with dragons
build lego skyscrapers
and fly with birds
i am a single streetlight
at the corner of the corn field
marking where civilization
meets america
i am unstructured and out there
inside and uncomfortable
proposing a turn
not caring whether you follow
can you guess?

©bonnie pignatiello leer
(Published in the Wilderness House Literary Review, Jan 2008)

One Streetlight

one streetlight
one light
for empty corn field
lone car
rabbits
mice
opossums
live there

rusty old muffler
bits of blown tires
in the gravel

a light
in my eyes
as I drive past
then darkness
with just headlights to guide me

©bonnie pignatiello leer