Two Poems by Jeneva Stone

Entropy

Cats hiss like water spilled on a hot stove. An evaporation of
aggression.

Distracted by my own thoughts, I once heard “poof” and
turned to see the wok flaming, yellow blades igniting then
joining forces in cacophony.

Sometimes energy exerts itself with an inescapable boom—
other times it releases softly. A physicist might intervene and
say something about quantity and molecular structure and
other factors I can’t account for.

There’s an equation for everything. This I know.

But does it matter how your world destabilizes? A stack of
crockery, piled inexpertly, teeters.

You’ve heard that sound—sharpness of the initial strike, softer
cadence following, a dull splitting open, a fear of being caught
in that deluge of rapid-fire noise without shelter or a way
home.

*

Empty Nest

Somewhere there’s a sun that doesn’t sink beneath an
inevitable horizon. Star fire.

I like the way some loves burn yellow-white, small
arms curling and dancing. That band of the color
spectrum blazes steadily. That is, it lasts.

The hottest flames are violet, one letter short of
destruction.

Before 1700, English didn’t differentiate between
“son” and “sun.” Or “sonne” or “sunne.” So many
letters have fallen away, no longer needed.

In the nineteenth century, yellow roses, nested gold
petals, each layer cupping close the next, meant
friendship. Or joy.

One day our sun will grow large, expanding beyond
the invisible limits of those that orbit him. We won’t
burn. We’ll merely cede our place.

*

Jeneva Stone (she/her) is a poet, essayist and advocate. She’s the author of Monster (Phoenicia Publishing, 2016), a mixed-genre meditation on caregiving. Her work has appeared in NER, APR, Waxwing, Scoundrel Time, Cutbank, Posit, and many others. She is the recipient of fellowships from MacDowell, Millay Arts, and VCCA, and has been nominated multiple times for a Pushcart Prize. Her opinion writing has been featured in The Washington Post and CNN Digital. She holds an MFA from the Warren Wilson Program.

Jeneva volunteers for multiple health care and disability groups, coalitions, and boards/taskforces at local, state and federal levels. Her leadership roles include: Blog Manager for Little Lobbyists, a family-led organization advocating for health care of children with complex medical needs and disabilities; Maryland Community Ambassador for the Rare Action Network, and governor’s appointee to Maryland’s Rare Disease Advisory Council.