What If You See Me? {a poem}

PoetryJena SchwartzSeptember 22, 2022Jewish, poems, poetry, Contemplative Poetry, High Holidays, compassion, self-compassionComment

Skywriting {a poem}

PoetryJena SchwartzSeptember 15, 2022Poetry, poetry, meditation, Mindfulness, mindfulnessComment

Slow Moon Shadow Season

Back in the field, I see a woman. I am a woman. I am a shadow. I am a season.

Creative Process, PoetryJena SchwartzOctober 14, 2021poetry, moon cycle, seasonsComment

When We Look Back, What Will We See?

PoetryJena SchwartzJune 14, 2021freewrite, poetry, poems, perspective, Marriage, to, TimeComment

Also This {a poem}

Some days you just want to cry for no reason
except no reason is actually so many reasons

PoetryJena SchwartzApril 26, 2021spring, running, depression, poem, poetry, marriage, loveComment

Day 272: Solstice

Observations, Real LifeJena SchwartzDecember 21, 2020Solstice, prose poetry, poetry, poem, stream of consciousnessComment

Confirmation {a poem}

Poetry, ResistanceJena SchwartzOctober 27, 2020poetry, poem, political protest, SCOTUS, sacredComment

Day 203: Rainy Day & Red Apples

Real LifeJena SchwartzOctober 13, 2020poetry, poems, poem, Doug Anderson, Rain, Writing, LGBTQIA+ Comment

Echo

PoetryJena SchwartzSeptember 3, 2020poetry, listeningComment

Family Meeting

"Here's what you need to know," my father began.

PoetryJena SchwartzNovember 19, 2019poetry, poem, poems, family, memoir, family historyComment

For a Friday Morning {a poem}

We thought we might have a baby-baby, // but the easy way to say this is // life happened // or // it wasn't in the cards.

PoetryJena SchwartzNovember 8, 2019Everyday life, poems, poet, poem, poetry, dive into poetry, life happens, gratitudeComment

How Many Times?

How many times do you need to hear
that you are enough?

PoetryJena SchwartzSeptember 22, 2019poetry, poet, poems, Jena Schwartz poetry, forgiveness, grace, Contemplative Poetry Comment

Just for Today

PoetryJena SchwartzSeptember 16, 2019running, writing, presence, release, letting go, self-care, poetry, poemComment

A Mother's Day Poem

PoetryJena SchwartzMay 12, 2019motherhood, mothering, mother's day, holidays, poetry Comment

Like the red maple leaves

Poetry, Creative ProcessJena SchwartzMay 6, 2019poetry, poem, poet, spring, myth, breathingComment

The Household Members of Resistance

Meanwhile, it is so crowded here sometimes I cannot find entrance to my own house, my own quiet places, the ones where the writing lives alone.

Creative ProcessJena SchwartzFebruary 20, 2019writing, writers block, Jane Kenyon, poetry, Time, Winter, Writer's blockComment

The Agreement {poem}

Poetry, Real LifeJena SchwartzFebruary 13, 2019domesticity, marriage, reciprocty, kindness, household chores, division of labor, daily life, poem, poetry, dive into poetryComment

Petrozavodsk, 1990

But I couldn’t help myself. My love of Russia began to bang up against something else: The undeniable truth that Jews had left this place in droves, in search of the religious and cultural freedom of expression. Sure, some small communities had cropped up, particularly in the bigger cities, but here in the north, Jews were an anomaly — suspicious, strange, other.

Jewish LifeJena SchwartzDecember 27, 2018lake onega, russian women, family, lineage, poetry, jewish, freedom, russian jewComment

Thoughts on Writing and Fragility

Yet you, on an ordinary day, telling the truth about your life and being willing to get more and more honest and real? That is strong, my friends. And it’s just the beginning.

Creative Process, ResistanceJena SchwartzJanuary 9, 2018writer, writing, fragility, practice, fear, social justice, activism, community, justice, equality, poetryComment

The Poet’s Role in a Crumbling Democracy

But here’s the thing: If I am to move my writing more into a political sphere — a periphery I’ve circled and danced inside of for as long as I’ve been writing — I have an obligation to do so in a way that calls attention not to myself but to those who really have something at stake.

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