Birdlike notes sing through quiet Quarter,
Echo off ancient cobbled street.
A mynah’s hopeful love call.
Man whistles, long coat buttoned against late fall chill,
One note running up and down the scale of his hearts’ desire.
The singular music follows him like sunlight breaking clouds.
Is he thinking of his wife
Who will kiss him kindly at the door?
Or, perhaps, last [...]
Leaf upon leaf, dense
Paper-thin petals sheer as
Shadow behind shade
A bouquet of fine tissue
Green delight for tired eyes.
Across the courtyard, late fall (crisp air,
Windows shut against the chill),
Making love in an empty apartment, a couple
I do not know. I pause, on my way to work
Wonder why with the curtains packed, the boxes shipped
The dishes wrapped, the furniture sold or donated -
Why choose that Tuesday [...]
“A Dreamer’s Guide to Cities” San Francisco Bay Press, Virginia/San Francisco: 2009
In her second full-length poetry collection, Joan Gelfand explores the poignancy of living in a world that is war-torn and environmentally damaged. With a nod to the humorous paradox of modern life, Gelfand writes from the vantage point of a mother, an artist, and a Zen meditator. “A Dreamer’s Guide…” looks beyond the surface of our lives at the connections that make live worth living, and the sensual details that color it. Read More
Seeking Center: A Collection of Poems by Joan Gelfand, Two Bridges Press, Richmond CA: 2006
In Seeking Center, Joan Gelfand joins the reader in a free-wheeling discussion, beyond the poems themselves, regarding what is poetry today, here at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Read More