Poetry by Sharmagne
            Leland-St.John


            
 

            
The Mystery of You

            

            
When the first snows came

            I stacked more pine logs onto the hearth,

            Extra down comforters on the beds,

            And I slept in the crook of your arm.

            The warmth of you radiating,

            Eradicating the icy breath of winter,

            My lips searching for your mouth,

            Your tender kisses.

            
In the cold mornings,

            No bird song,

            They'd all flown south

            Their silence echoing,

            In the frigid wind.

            The whiteness like a shroud

            Encompassing the pasture.

            
With the world still asleep,

            I tried to decipher

            The mystery of you,

            Etched in your eyes.

            We shared intimate moments

            Beneath flannel sheets,

            Posing questions

            That had no answers.

            We no longer speak of the past,

            Instead

            We leave it where it belongs,

            
And our hearts swell

            With feelings

            We cannot comprehend.

            We can only

            Enjoy

            The economy of lines

            You trace with fingertips,

            Picasso-like on my

            Breasts, round belly,

            And thighs.

            
 

            
Sharmagne Leland-St. John,
            a 2007 Pushcart Prize nominee, is a Native American poet, concert
            performer, lyricist, artist, and film maker. Sharmagne spends
            time between her home in the Hollywood Hills, in Southern California
            and her fishing lodge on the Stillaguamish River in the Pacific
            Northwest. She tours the United States, Canada, and England,
            as a performance poet, either solo or with her band of poets
            "Poetry in Motion." She has published 2 books of poetry
            Unsung Songs (2003), Silver Tears and Time (2005), and co-authored
            a book on film production design. Designing Movies: Portrait
            of a Hollywood Artist (Greenwood/Praeger, 2006) her third collection
            of poetry Contingencies is scheduled for publishing February
            2008.