Jamie Lynn Morris photo

Jamie Lynn Morris

BIO: I was born in a mansion in Wauwatosa, a home for unwed mothers to be exact and this is where my story begins. My childhood was spent in the care of the Millard family in Greendale, Wisconsin. I was a rebellious youth, and some might say boy crazy. My interest in poetry began in the 7th grade, when I was introduced to the works of Edgar Allen Poe. In high school, I dabbled at writing poetry off and on. After high school, I attended M.A.T.C and UW–Milwaukee, while raising my two children, Devon and Ashley. With some regret, I was forced to leave UW–Milwaukee and move to La Crosse, Wisconsin. During the late 90's, I once again took up poetry's pen and have since published two poetry books, Ode to Naughtiness and From Odes to Ends, available online at lulu.com/jamielynn. I have since returned to college at UW–Lacrosse. As I mentioned, I am adopted, but have since met my biological father, whose last name is Morris, so I now publish under the name Jamie Lynn Morris. Some of my favorite poets to date are Pablo Neruda, Linda Pastan, Rumi, Leonard Cohen, Edgar Allen Poe, and Jim Morrison. As for my poetry style, I am a romantic at heart and a minimalist at best.

poetjamielynn@gmail.com

     POEMS:

HYPNOTIST

There is something hypnotic
About the way you lie.
Something about your eyes,
That gleam like a pocket watch.

Your voice full of assurance,
Says trust me, let it slide.
Feeling very sleepy,
I nod off into agreement.

MIL TOWN

Skyscrapers rim the city like ridges
on a bottle cap, tipped in vapors of dry ice.
Harleys rumble in the distance
like wooden barrels of beer being
rolled out, as motorcycles converge
on Milwaukee’s pub-lined streets forming rows of
black leather and chrome.

Party goers spill out of doorways
forming a chaotic pit of people, making it hard to tell
where one bash begins and another one
ends, while rock music throbs in the background
like sexual tension on the edge of climax.
Nothing rejuvenates the spirit
like going home.

It must be the water.