#lori
the will to change is a necessity
though not so oft a choice preferable,
no, oft-ill~willed, for we who over-value
the customary, or even just
the somewhat
familiar
finding the hell of constant updates
constantly annoying
of technology
irritable
and yet,
yes, always another,
and yet,
must
grin and bear this
challenge..
have crossed
the markers of division
of centuries splitting,
and no special fondness necessarily
for what people call the good ole days,
which were hardly better
in all respects
now, must excuse me,
the landline is ringing,
and I must stand up
to shut the television off
so one with great aplomb,
can proceed to curse
the parents
of these inventive
scammers
who live only to
record my voice stating in very and
most certain terms
go to hell!
(actually something much more
choice,
regarding their parentage,
but the censors are
always watching
me,
especially,
unlike in the good ole days
when cursing
was a
justifiable
permissible
decision
to state
when dealing with
**** of
“humanity”)
May 1
May 1, 2026 at 2:48 PM UTC
In your eyes, my heart finds its haven
A tender touch that soothes my soul, my cravings
With every breath, my love for you grows strong
Forever entwined, and you are always on my mind forever with you, my heart and I.....
Mar 1
Mar 1, 2026 at 4:34 PM UTC
~for the inestimable and yet,
so oft underestimated,
Lori Jones McCaffery ~
*"That was beautiful and I lived it with you." ^
tell-me, tell-me,
he whispers so only ***** can hear:
is there anything more,
a simple poet could ask for,
but an admission of someone revealing that
your words,
inculcated, enwrapped, flowered within,
then carried them to you,
and you to them?
to sit beside me, on my unpillowed weathered throne,
and imagine them imagining through eyes that read, shared
your overflowing joyous insights of the outside domain,
your sadness glorious at the end of a summer
where you rediscovered, un~purposed,
a mindfulness,
from the early morning sun beams stinging you alive
that together ***** the air from lungs exhaling,
and this very breathe
is the synapse of an actual consummation,
transmigrating, transmuting, transforming
a kindred soul
to kin
how glorious!
no, there is nothing greater,
but to ask:
my dear,
can you feel, taste my salted tears, Lori,
as I kiss each of your hands for becoming/making/cresting & creating
a bond of us?
Sep 20, 2025
Sep 20, 2025 at 10:10 AM UTC
~
November 2023
HP Poet: Lori Jones McCaffery
Age: 84
Country: USA
Question 1: We welcome you to the HP Spotlight, Lori. Please tell us about your background?
Lori: "I was born Loretta Yvonne Spring in a tarpaper shack on Lone Oak Road, Longview Washington, on New Years Day in 1939. That means I’ll soon turn 85. In high School a boyfriend changed my first name to Lori and I kept it. At 29 I married and became Lori Spring Jones. (I signed poems “lsj”) I had one child, a daughter, and when 20 years later I divorced, I kept the Jones name. I married again, in 1988 and became Lori Jones McCaffery, sometimes with a hyphen, sometimes not. I’m still married to that Brit named Colin and I speak “Brit” fluently. I sign everything I write “ljm” (lower case). I didn’t know about handles when I joined HP, so I just used my whole name and then felt I may have seemed uppity for using all of it. If I had a handle, it would likely be POGO. Short for Pogo stick. Long Story. I have an older sister and a younger brother. Both hate my poetry. My parents divorced when I was 12. My mother’s family was originally from No. Carolina. I’m proud of my Hillbilly blood. I went to college on a scholarship. Worked at various jobs since I was in high school. Moved to Los Angeles in 1960 just in time to join the Hippy/summer-of-love/sunset-strip-scene, which I was heavy into until I married. I read my stuff at the now legendary Venice West and Gas House in Venice Beach during that period. I’ve been an Ins. Claims examiner, executive secretary, Spec typist, Detective’s Girl Friday, Bikini Barmaid, Gameshow Contestant Co-ordinator, Folk Club manager, organizational chef, and long time Wedding Director. (I’ve sent 3,300 Brides down the aisle) "
Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?
Lori: "I wrote my first poem in the 5th grade and never stopped. I had an awakening in 1957 when I worked at a resort during school break and met another poet, who unleashed a need to write that I’ve never been able to quell. I joined Hello Poetry in 2015, I think. Seems like I’ve always been here. I tend to comment on everything I read here. I’ve received no encouragement from my family so I feel compelled to encourage my “family” here. I do consider a large number of fellow writers friends, and value the brief exchanges we have. I don’t know if Eliot intended HP to be a social club but among us regulars, it kind of has been, and I love that."
Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).
Lori: "Living inspires me. The intricacies of relationships, and the unpredictability of navigating society. A news story often does it. A song may stir words. Other poetry often sets me off on a quest of my own. I write very well to deadlines and prompts. I adore BLT’s word game and played it a lot in the beginning. Seeing the wonderful job Anais Vionet does with them shamed me away. I have hundreds of yellow lined pages with a few lines of the ‘world’s greatest poem’ on each, all left unfinished because I’m great at starts and not so great on endings. Some day, I tell myself….some day."
Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?
Lori: "Poetry has been a large part of my life as long as I can remember. I would feel amputated without it. I recited the entire “Raven” from memory in Jr. High School. I still remember most of it. More recently I memorized “The Cremation of Sam McGee” Poetry is my refuge - with words I can bandage my hurts, comfort my pain and loss, share my opinions and assure myself that I have value. It is where I laugh and also wail. I would like to think it builds bridges."
Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?
Lori: "My favorite poets include Edgar Allen Poe, Robert W Service, Amy Lowell (I read ‘Patterns’ in a speech contest once), Robert Frost, Shel Silverstein, and Lewis Carroll."
Question 6: What other interests do you have?
Lori: "I’m a collector. Whippet items, vintage everything, I read voraciously: 15 magazine subs, speculative fiction (SF) and anything else with words written on it. I try to read everything every day on HP. I watch Survivor religiously and keep scorecards. Ditto for Dancing with the Stars. I’m a practicing Christian with a devilish side and involved heavily in Methodist church work, which includes cooking for crowds and planning events."
Carlo C. Gomez: “Thank you so much for giving us an opportunity to get to know you, dear Lori! It is an honor to include you in this series!”
Lori: "Thank you so much for this very undeserved honor. This is a wonderful thing you are doing. I know I write with a different voice than many, and it is empowering to be accepted for this recognition. I apologize for being so verbose in answering your questions. When you get to my age you just have so many stories to tell."
Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed getting to know Lori better. I learned so much. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez & Mrs. Timetable
We will post Spotlight #10 in December!
~
Nov 2, 2023
Nov 2, 2023 at 5:19 PM UTC
for Lori, Riley and Kendrick
the questioning words jump off the page,
into two hands transforming,
words shape shifting into
multicolored ink stained fingers,
now, all a chokehold on my brain,
my throaty gasps rasping from
a simplistic convolution -
single questioning deserving an answer
what are you made of?
the obvious answers left in the slow lane,
bone, tissue, rivers and arteries of blue bloods,
just oil and fuel of a containership,
but the cargo carried, that’s the real stuff
you have insight inside that cannot be seen,
self-survival instincts that morph into morals,
our shared air affects you differently,
a sense of defending, caring,
costless and costliest simultaneously,
spaghetti strands strong sinewed intertwining,
into a better human than most
to call you hero is wrongly insufficient,
but the thesaurus lends me no substitute,
weep, I do,
as the spring and summer blushing green
will not be seen by you at all, and by me,
seen now so differently,
when thinking of
soil-born courage instinctual that has no name,
but grows only in nature
what are you made of?
we know now, but knew not well,
that thing that makes you leap first,
was all you, the entirety of the best,
that exists, existed, as reminders to us,
to mine it, wear it,
medal it upon our fabric
*you three,
breathe it back, exhale it from where ever you are,
that trace chemical odor in our atmosphere,
of life-giving sweetness, a rebirthing chlorophyll freedom
that we humans all desperately need,
even just to know it exists,
and inform us*
what we need to be made of
May 13, 2019
May 13, 2019 at 5:43 PM UTC
मैं हिंदी..
कभी सीने से मुझको लगाने वाले,
हर गीत में मुझे गुनगुनाने वाले,
बनी जब मैं माँ की लोरी,
मेरी गोद में वह सो जाने वाले,
मुझसे अब रिश्ता तोड़ चुके हैं।
जिनकी हर वेदना की मैं आवाज़ बनी,
खुशी से गुनगुनाये तो मैं साज़ बनी,
कभी सोने के पन्नों में खेला करती थी,
आज चंद हर्फ़ों की मोहताज़ बनी।
कभी तरन्नुम में तो कभी तरानों में थी,
प्यार में लिखे अफ़सानों में थी,
यौवन के मधुर संगीतों में थी,
इश्क़ में तड़पे तो मैं उनकी ज़ुबानों पे थी।
क्रांति के इंक़लाब में निहित,
हर दो तूक जवाब में थी,
अख़बारों के पन्ने बनकर,
जमघट बेहिसाब में थी,
विजय उद्घोष किया जब तुमने,
मैं बन इतिहास किताब में थी।
हर रूप में जिनको ममता दी,
जिनका था मैंने वरण किया,
उन्हीं बेटों में भरी सभा में था,
मेरा चीर हरण किया,
इतने वर्षों से जो मेरी,
गोदी में फल फूल रहे थे,
तड़प उठी मैं, देखा जब,
वह मुझको ही अब भूल रहे थे।
अंतर्वेदना के गहन दर्द से रोती मैं चित्कार रही थी,
हर कोई अनजान था मुझसे,
और मैं बेबस निहार रही थी, और मैं बेबस निहार रही थी।
Mar 20, 2016
Mar 20, 2016 at 11:35 AM UTC
She's strong and wise and sticky fingered
She's squishy and smart and colourful and fun
She's small and quick and shiny
And she's gonna find herself in
Being free
Oct 4, 2015
Oct 4, 2015 at 10:31 AM UTC