Jeannette Encinias

Jeannette Encinias is a writer and teacher from California who spends much of her time on the Oregon Coast with her dog, Oliver and her husband, Trev. She offers poems that illuminate the human condition, messy and beautiful as it is. These poems were written in cafes, on cocktail napkins, at home, on the floor, at sea, on the back of her hand, in-between catastrophes, during peaceful evenings, and always with love.

Work

The work now 

is to keep the heart open, strong and alive

no matter what happens.

This is hard work.

The tallest order.

The deepest prayer.

I wake in the morning

and clean my heart

like a window.

Some days

the storm lashes and

birds of peace break their wings

against the glass.

But I begin again

each day.

For this is good and honest work.

The only work 

that matters now.

— Jeannette Encinias