Writers of Kern

The Coronavirus
by Baylie Jett Mills
 
Just a few months ago we had never heard
Of the virus that now sweeps the globe like a bird.
The virus that changed the way that we greet
And makes it difficult to find the food that we eat.
 
Just a short time ago we never dreamed
That our whole nation would be quarantined.
The grocery stores are crowded, yet the shelves are all bare
And now finding toilet paper has become rare.
 
Just a while ago we never believed
A pandemic could strike that would leave us all grieved.
A pandemic that makes us all wash our hands well
When we return from searching the stores for Purell.  
 
 
Just a few weeks ago we never knew
That a virus existed more lethal than flu.
A virus that makes us stock up on food
And social distance ourselves from the face-masked old dude.
 
Just a few months ago we never feared
That our bottled water would have disappeared.
Panic has set in and everyone feels stress
As they listen with interest to the president’s address. 
 
But as hopeless as things look amid all the fear
I am confident America can persevere.
We have overcome crises before this one came
But our world undoubtedly will never be the same.
 
If we all stay on lockdown
And keep surfaces clean,
I truly believe
We will beat COVID-19.

Baylie Jett Mills is a Bakersfield resident and the author of The Adventures of Max children’s book series available for purchase online at Amazon.com and at local bookseller Russo’s Books.

First Taste
by Annis Cassells


The Cassells home-place cellar,
earthen-floored,
must-scented, raven-aired.
 
Grandma Annie Cass-ells
and ten-year-old me,
we heave worn wooden doors,
 
throw daylight underground,
pick our way down brick slab steps,
stand still, let our eyes adjust.
 
She leads
bound for thick, unpainted plank shelves
jammed against an uneven patched wall.
 
She reaches
for a dusty jug
amongst canned pickles, peaches, beets.
 
She pours
a half-pint jelly jar one-quarter full,
“grape juice.”
 
She savors
A dark liquid sip
“Ahhhhh.” 
 
She passes
the almost-empty vessel
to me.
 
She cautions
“Just a little now.
Makes you feel warm inside.”
 
She stretches
knobby fingers for the rest
as the jar leaves my lips.
 
We ascend
hugging peach and pickle jars
Silent glances sealing our secret.

Annis Cassells is a poet, blogger, teacher, life coach, and a long-time member of Writers of Kern. She’s had stories and poems published in online and print journals and magazines. This spring Annis published her first book of poems, You Can’t Have It All. She’s currently working on her second collection.

Let Your Wings Take You to Heaven
by Sandy Moffett
 
Let your wings take you to Heaven
Where your heartbeat is always strong
Where your eyes see all things clearly
And you sing the sweetest songs
 
Where your arms can fly like eagles
And hug with love to spare
Where your legs can run forever
And you live without a care
 
Let your wings take you to Heaven
To your new and perfect home
Where our love is always with you
And you’ll never be alone

Sandy was born in Bakersfield, returning to her hometown in 1985.  Sandy has been married to Greg for 39 years, and they have four children and 12 grandchildren.

Sandy is a poet, lyricist and has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Cup of Comfort and numerous other works. 

That was Then — This is Now
by Judy Kukuruza
 
Committee meetings—boring.
“Wanna meet for coffee later?”
Stopping to rush into the store--harried.
Never enough hours in the day—then.
 
Excitedly looking forward to a Zoom meeting!
Drinking coffee on the porch alone.
“Do I really need to go to the store?”
So many hours in a day—now.
 
Poetry, novels, music now.
Things there was no time for then.
Literally watching the grass grow,
Seeing the hills that remain a constant now.
 
A text message—phone call.
Truly listening, participating.
Crows cawing, sprinklers popping on,
And now they are noticed and appreciated.
 
The worries from then carry into now—
Money, work, bills due.
But that phone call, that text
Are the important things now.
 
Real friends.
Real caring.
Real nature.
Real priorities that matter.
 
That was then—
A whizzing blur.
This is now—
And there is hope in NOW.

Judy Kukuruza ~ Retired college instructor from CSUB and Bakersfield College.  She published her memoir One Body/Many Souls in 2018, and later Poems to Ponder, Little Stories to Play with in Your Mind, and Letters.  She publishes her blog, “Our Spiritual Journey” through Word Press, participates in the WOK blog challenge and is published in both the WOK Anthology 2018 Reaching for the Sky and the CSUB poetry antholology, Writing Sound. 

Oh so swiftly flying by

            Winter, spring, summer, fall

The hours, days and minutes cry

            For time to answer freedom’s call.

I long for soulful emptiness

            And silence to abide;

A quiet heart that grace does bless

            And angels by my side.

Rose Lester is a Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice. As a true renaissance woman, she aspires to all things creative and is at home in a variety of creative mediums from song writing and singing, to playing her violin and guitar, to painting and sculpting, or writing poems about life and transformation. Her poems have been published in several anthologies and online websites. She volunteers for the Art for Healing program at Mercy Hospital and helps lead the Threshold Choir that sings at the bedside of those in need of comfort and peace.