Beatrice Benning January 1-5

 

January Cornucopia of Promise by Beatrice Benning #1

January opens before us.

Cornucopia of promise

To others, to ourselves.

How long before we fill our shelves?

Before we run out of steam,

And store another neglected and dusty dream?

 

Surprise January First Beatrice Benning #2

Surprise! January First upon us burst.

Raining confettied euphoria.

Rinsing us so clean

We easily forget the collected regrets

Of the prior year.

Room for new memories to flood us

When next January First draws near.

January First upon us burst

Showering us with fireworks of glee

Sparkling away tears of the prior year

Dazzling us to believe

That resolve will triumph over inconstancy.

Are we surprised by January First?

 

January Radiance by Beatrice Benning #3

Radiant heat from the January sun

Crystalline light through the window

Thin sheet of melted silicon

Separates us from the cold.

Glass transforms the low angled sunlight

Into heat on my living room couch.

Absorbed there by my son’s dog.

The canine indifferent to the miracle of radiant heat

Warmed more by the radiance of her owner’s love.

 

January Under Our Feet by Beatrice Benning #4

Under our feet burrowed bugs sleep

Sheltering in private bunkers, survivalists

Seeking salvation from Midwest winter.

Fools! Above we bask, if briefly,

In the limited light of our latitude

Cold and insect free, filled with a gratitude

Our Southern neighbors cannot know

Hiding behind their dark mesh screens.

Yes, January cold rules the Midwest

But in the South, bugs have it best!

 

Oh Janus! By Beatrice Benning #5

Oh Janus! Two faced Roman god

Sneering backwards and forwards

Doorway guardian and sentinel

Of the physical and the temporal.

Oh Janus! You stand watch betwixt our home and the street

Poised where our past and future meet.

Oh Janus! Why did you not fall with the Roman Empire?

No. Instead Janus you are the pagan turning point.

The pivot where one year will expire.

And our imagined new year will soon transpire.

Oh Janus! We worshipers of other gods

Cannot prostrate to you for aid.

Nor supplicate to your pagan power.

Yes Janus! We aliens step from the treadmills of our past.

Boldly lurching into your month, earnestly we perspire

Lustfully mimicking your pagan worshipers

By procreating our own annual empires.