Two Poems
Janice D. Soderling
The Gay Divorcée Contemplates December​
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And all the little field mice now are fled,
grown fat and sweet on pumpkin seed and corn,
close-curled in burrow beds scratched underground
while I in mine curl bitter and alone.
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Glaucus as a Lovelorn Columnist
(End words Shakespeare sonnet 23)
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Now, girl, when he has reached love’s final stage
And coldly says the time has come to part,
It will not do to take to tears or rage
Or piteously sniff about your broken heart.
When all is said, there’s nothing left to say,
No matter who was wronged and who is right.
Slick words, like slimy leaves, will soon decay
Beneath the knowledge tree. Each if and might
In Latin, Greek or other eloquence,
Run off like rain against the gander’s breast.
None sees, or cares, or offers recompense
for what bored lovers many times expressed.
When to the tale of love, The End is writ,
It’s over, done. Tu-whit, tu-whoo, to wit.
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Janice’s notes: ​​“’The Gay Divorcée Contemplates December’
was published in 2013 at the excellent Canadian zine Centrifugal Eye, for which I remain grateful.
“’Glaucus as a Lovelorn Columnist’ has not appeared in any poetry journal but is included in my 2025 collection The Women Come and Go, Talking. It utilizes all the end words of Shakespeare sonnet 23, which begins, ’As an unperfect actor on the stage, / Who with his fear is put beside his part . . ..’
“Some might wish explication for ’Glaucus.’ For such, I quote and thank Wikipedia:
’[Glaucus i]n Greek mythology [is] a little owl (Athene noctua) [which] traditionally represents or accompanies Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom, or Minerva, her syncretic incarnation in Roman mythology. Because of such association, the bird—often referred to as the “owl of Athena" or the “owl of Minerva”—has been used as a symbol of knowledge, wisdom, perspicacity and erudition throughout the Western world.’“
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Janice D. Soderling is an American–Swedish writer who lives in a small Swedish village. Over the years, she has published hundreds of poems, flash and fiction, most recently at
Mezzo Cammin, Eclectica, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and Tipton Poetry Journal. Collections issued in 2025 are The Women Come and Go, Talking (poems) and Our Lives Were Supposed to Be Different (short stories).
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Hop to…
Andrew l David l Gail l Janet l John l Mark l Martin I Melissa l Mike l Paul l Steven l Susan l Word-Bird
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