Joanne the Poet - The Poetry of Joanne M. Clarkson

Hospice Poem in The Healing Muse

My poem, “The Last Piece,” is in Volume 21, Number 1 – Fall 2021 of The Healing Muse, the literary journal of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities associated with SUNY Upstate Medical University. This is a very real poem derived from my experience as a Hospice RN. When I visited homes of the dying I often found jigsaw puzzles! They gave the carers, visitors and even the patient, something specific to do.

I specifically remember Karl’s home in a remote wooded area. His family got him the most beautiful puzzles mostly on animal themes since Karl loved all creatures. I mentioned to him one day that I saw puzzles in other homes also. He came up with the idea of trading puzzles and gave me a boxload of jigsaws he and his family had previously enjoyed putting together. He told me to give them away to other patients and families and if they wanted to donate some in return, that was fine.

My Hospice families loved Karl’s idea and I carried puzzles around in the back of my car for those who wanted to try one or trade.

Karl’s favorite was the puzzle of a beautiful wolf. Karl’s daughter kept this one and after his passing glued it to a board and framed it.

I was continually amazed by the generosity and kindness and ingenuity of those I served during my Hospice years.

Grandmothering Anthology

I was surprised and thrilled to receive my copy of Grandmothers & Grandmothering, Creative and Critical Contemplations in Honour of our Women Elders in the mail yesterday. It is published by Demeter, a feminist press in Ontario. I have my own chapter called My Esther: Darkness and the Shine and my poems are mostly about my grandmother who was indeed a complex person. These poems were accepted in 2017 and I had wondered what had become of the publication. Then suddenly it is here. Most of the articles are of a scholarly nature, exploring through a multicultural lens, all sorts of female lineage relationships. Besides the poems about Esther, I also have 2 about myself as a grandmother, one of my most cherished roles in this life.

Passager Honorable Mention

My poem “Sacred” received an Honorable Mention in Passager Poetry Journal’s 2021 annual contest and just appeared in their fall issue. The poem is about a strange circle that appeared in the grasses of a vacant lot. Standing in the middle of the circle I honestly felt motion and an eerie rhythm. The poem speculates about the origin and meaning of this (possibly) mystic marking. It is the final poem in the journal and seems appropriate there. Thank you, Editors!

We’Moon 2022

The We’Moon datebook for 2022 whose theme is “The Magical Dark” has just arrived. I am honored to have a poem among the beautiful and inspiring art and writings. My poem is title “Night Mare” and is a somewhat true dream/vision and is in February. The datebook is available at many bookstores including Radiance in Olympia and Phoenix Rising in Olympia. Or the datebook and wall calendar can both be ordered online at www.wemoon.ws. These publications are treasures. There is so much information about moon cycles and astrology. And the beautiful pieces are uplifting. I have used this as my desk calendar for years. Thank you, dedicated editors!

“Hospice Swans” Published

My poem, “Hospice Swans,” is now available to read on the Months to Years journal website www.monthstoyears.org. To see it now, click on New Work, and then on the photo of swans. In about a month, it will appear in the online and print versions of the Fall 2021 issue.

It took me years to compose this poem and polish it to get it right. It is, of course, a true story from my Hospice days. I really did arrive for each of my nursing visits hoping to see the swans that the patient and her husband talked so much about. The land they owned was beautiful, as was their loving devotion to each other. The swans, obviously, became a metaphor for approaching death.

In crafting this poem I wanted to capture what it is like to wait for something unknown that was bound to arrive. And the swans that never came seemed like how quietly, beyond all our efforts, death descends, but unseen. I am so grateful to the editors of Months to Years for giving this poem a home — and for all the wonderful work they do to help others express the experience of passing in the ways most important and personal to them.

Poem in Talking River Review, Spring 2021

My poem “Twenty Minutes” is in the 50th issue of Talking River Review, the literary journal of Lewis-Clark State College. The poem is about a young man that I admired a great deal who died a tragic death. What is commemorated, however, is his courageous life. I feel so honored to have my poem included in this dynamic, beautifully printed publication. And I hope my words do some measure of justice to all Travis contributed during his brief lifetime.

“The Found Bone” in Crosswinds Journal

I am so honored to have my poem “The Found Bone” in Volume VI 2021 of Crosswinds Poetry Journal. It is written around an experience I had beachcombing on our beautiful Cape George shoreline. When I go walking I often ask the Universe for a poem. One might come in a word, a line, an image — or an actual object like the vertebra I found at the tideline that day. I am so thankful for this gift I received and was able to gift back re-purposed into words!

PQRST in Examined Life Journal

The literary publication of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, “The Examined Life Journal,” has published my poem “PQRST” in the Fall 2020 issue. This poem features the acronym I used as a Hospice RN to assess pain in my patients. Pain control was most often my primary goal in Hospice situations and fortunately I had many tools at my disposal to keep patients comfortable in their final days. A thorough assessment was the foundation and these letters helped me to accomplish this and then choose the correct treatments to put into place. Many thanks to the editors and readers of this journal which has wonderful stories, poems and nonfiction pieces relating to the health continuum.