This poem took me on its journey. Even though I traveled along, I was a little resistant to entering heaven. Then, Jack convinced me–that would be an okay heaven.

Another wonderful poem by Jack Grapes . . . !
He really does have a way
of making it seem like
the gods and goddesses are here with us.
Or, perhaps, are us . . . .
Thank you, Wendy.

So insightful as is everything Jack shares with us. He forces us to see the world, real or imaginary, through a different perspective. He is a gifted writer and mentor of many. Thank you, Jack for sharing your world.

I wish Jack instead of water, would at least spray some Martini&Rossi, extra dry, on us.
It would really feel like heaven!

Andy Kolo

Another brilliant poem by Grapes. I love the way it opens with such an ordinary scene — the summer sun "sits down on the bricks in the front yard." How easily he draws us in. Thank you, Jack. Thank you Wendy.

Never heard of you before Finding Jack Grapes' poem. Thanks to Wendy I get a good read from Jack, my favorite poet. Such high quality I need—please add me to your mailing list and thank you for your excellent taste.
Cyn

lovely.. lovely.. this could very well change my day..

Great selection Wendy! And wonderful poem, Jack — yes, a bit of heaven on earth.

Pulled me right out of my day and into the moment. Thank you for sharing the backspray wih us.

LOVE this poem…I love the journey to heaven and back, to the stars and back, to Jack's heart and….

You are right. I think we are already in heaven tasting the water and feeling the back spray. God bless you Mr. Watering Man.

wonderful piece Jack! Love the transition line! Thanks for sharing your talent.

Week after week, year after year, Jack has been watering men and women, watching over them as they grow into poets and writers. God will be in great hands.
Another wonderful choice by Wendy.

Jack waters more than lawns…he grows human lives. xo

To take the mundane and make it sacred, that's a great poem! Thank you Jack Grapes!

Jack Grapes is amazing!

It’s like you’re inside his head, seeing everything he sees…his every move, your every move…

I love his work.

Kudos Jack!

yes yes yes yes yes and yes thank you jack for watering me…now everytime I water my garden after reading this these images play over and over like a song…the power of poetry to take the mundane and make it extraordinary.

Before reading a Jack Grapes poem, I get comfortable, then strap myself in. I know I'm in for one hell of a ride! Kudos to Wendy Rainey & Cultural Weekly for your continued great taste.

Thank you for the kind words. It is always a pleasure to have poets in our midst.

yes..thank you wendy and cultural weekly!

and wendy and cultural weekly, thank YOU again for these wonderful pieces!!!

Jack has a way of putting life into perspective and of transporting us all to Heaven. We just forget sometimes that we are here . Thanks for reminding us, Jack, about where we are!. And thanks to Wendy and Adam for sharing this genius right here in our midst.

I love this pose and this poesy. Green grass and Mr. Grapes: indeed a heavenly combination.

A wonderful poem, like everything Jack writes. But….I can't help but wonder…is DWP in charge of the spigot?

Love this Jack, and as usual, went in a direction did not see coming. You have this uncanny ability to keep your writing "conversational" and homey, like it's to me, but then elevate to another level. Love you, miss you. xoxoxooox

Excellent poem by Jack Grapes. Thank you Wendy and Adam for creating such a wonderful platform for our treasured poets.

Jack if only you were in charge of everything ….the world would be such a better place.,,..You Shine Toni

I've been hosed before, but I rather get a good soak. If it's good enough for God, then soak me too. Thanks Jack for this meditation.
Thanks Wendy.

Love the unexpected turn…water light as a feather, clear and sparkling. Then on to water God as well.

Blessings!

Thanks Jack

I love the idea of being the guy in charge of watering in heavan, or anywhere…very tender piece…thanks Jack

As usual, Jack Grapes is the master of showing us the wisdom inherent in his talent. Life when enjoyed simply by being alive in the sun is not only self-fulfillment in his own psyche as an artist and poet but an awakening in all of us; a re-affirmation of even ordinary things as what they really are; miracles of being here another day, feeling the sun, holding the hose and watering grass on a hot day.

Thank you Jack for a wonderful journey!!!

Ah! As I sit here in the backyard listening to the waterfall, your poem splashes me in the face and wakes me up, Jack–just like always do when commenting on our work. Miss the feedback.

Thanks for posting Jack's poem. I am fortunate to have had the cooling back spray of his watering in my life.

This poem was read by one of Jack's students (1995-1999) to The Poetry Club @ The Rogers Senior Center in Huntington Beach last Thursday. The membership said, "That is a very good poem. The images are so clear." The club president said, "I really like that poem." I agree. His poem got me to journaling again which led me to: I Got My Netflix Streaming after Muddy Waters. Way to go, Jack. Gerald T. Olson, Sr.

I like the idea of watering God. I mean it gets really hot down here so I would imagine that God would appreciate a soak down. Anyway, it's fun to get watered on a warm day.

Jack takes the mundanity of life, which isn't mundane at all when you are lucky enough to read his absolute honesty which becomes his brilliance.

Wonderful. I can always count on Jack for a great poem.

For now, Jack is watering poets, nourishing us in this space and time. Thanks so much Jack for your kindness and caring that we each of us, each one of us, gets to speak in our own, particular voice that is God-given. Keep it up! and don't forget to wear your hat out in the sun. Sarah Mac Donald

Well, I've known Jack for a while now, and I can imagine him as God's hose-man. But I can also imagine him traversing the cosmos and adding a little steam in the nether world.
Thanks Jack.

Love this Jack . xo

…and The Cultural Weekly.

Jack, I love this poem. As Suzanne mentioned above, your ability to elevate the mundane to a sacred level is what makes your poetry so accessible. I believe it’s why we are able to digest it with such meaning. It’s as if your arrangement of words makes your feelings and observations soluable–allowing easy absorption by the common man. Thank you for being a chemist-priest, and for giving us passage to insight and joy.

Love this man. Love his poems. Thanks for publishing Jacn's work, which never fails to move, delight, and inspire me.

Lovely poem Jack. Watering the flowers, the grass, the bricks, yourself and God, all in one poem….

Jack, This is a perfect poem. It gets deeper every time I read it. "Cars which have nothing to do with brick." ". . . true geraniums. I can't keep track of them all." Yes!!! I love you, Jack. I just do. Hope you'll soak me down with the watering hose in heaven.

thank you !

I enjoyed the poem very much. And I gather from the comments here, that just as a dull dry hot stone is transformed into a sparkling colorful piece of beauty when soaked with water, you seem to have a talent in your mentoring and teaching for facilitating similar transformation in your students, with your apparent gift for bringing out the beauty in each soul…

I like the part about God soaking up prayers. Amazing, Jack!

You have watered our neighborhood with your bright spirit for many years. thank you for being you Jack. You are a refreshing soul.

…and God will be a lucky god indeed….

Jack masters the extraordinary ordinary. He's such a fine poet, teacher, human being – ya gotta love 'im! And I do! Thank you, Cultural Weekly. This was a delightful light full.

I love this poem Jack. Every time I read it I feel more nourished. So happy you are on this planet. It would be a dry place with out you. xo Eileen

Jack, Jack, Jack…this poem, so sweet & simple & pure
gave me goosebumps at the end. That's all I want
from a poem & a poet…to give me goosebumps.
Now, if I had a lawn, I'd want you to water it.

Bravo.

L.K. Thayer

Jack is the answer, now what was the question? Thank you for bringing us more Jack Grapes, Wendy and Adam!

Great as always to read your poem. Cheers

Jack, enjoyed your poem. Too often, as we live in our world, we focus on ourselves and ignore everything else.The beauty in front of us is there for a reason!

Wonderful imagery; it's always a delight to read one of Jack's poems. Thanks!

Please share more of Jack's poetry. His stuff is never dull, so human, neither too fancy nor too ragged, and just watered enough to make a garden grow, cakes moist, or God cool and happy on a summer day. Deceptively domestic and simple, it's full of the real thing.

Tending to the needs of others and finding one's place in all levels of concern

thanks Jack

Ah Jack: You baptize our imagination. I forever will see you chatting with God, distributing His groceries as you attend to the parched garden plot of your class awaiting, life-giving insights. You reach not just the "A list," in front, kissed by the sun, oh no, you reach way, way back to those of us in the XYZ patch, dehydrated by fear. We sense the moistness of your wisdom, lift our faces to the sun, becoming at last the writers you and your buddy, God know we can be. You, dearest, Big Daddy Jack, are indeed, the water you write about, "Noblest of all the elements." ~ Mary Rose Betten

his power for creating the most salient image is remarkable…makes me want to go water mine, i'm always looking for new ways to feel deeply universal, now I have to find that damned hose. GOOD JOB JACK!

This is a wonderful poem. Thank you for bringing it to us. I look forward to reading more selections from LA's vibrant poet's community.

Such a delicious poem. It's stayed with me for days. More, more please, Cultural Weekly!

Oh, I've not watered my lawn yet this week, forgot all about it, but now that I've read the poem and remembered the task, I wonder, will it be as celestial as this poem, when I do so?

Jack such a beautiful poem – the images and your words touched my heart.

A great moment-wonderfully palpable.

Jack,
What a wonderful poem!
God has watered you well. It's only fair that you should give him/her a spray or two, too.
xo

What a beautiful poem. I want to read it again and again. Thank you Jack. You really added joy to my thoughts around death. I shall now have the gift of associating those wonderful images of you up there watering everything. Thank you again.

What a beautiful poem, Jack. It took the stress out of my day. Made me want to stop for a moment and visit a little bit of heaven. Wonderful! Oh, and Jack don't forget to save me a house in heaven next to yours. I definitely want to soak up all the good nurturing. What a guy, you are!

Helen

Beautiful!!! I need watering. So grateful to have read it.

Diamonds of light in the back spray of a garden hose. Divine. Whatever your belief system…

The words went away, to more images of that liquid space held behind the veil. Thanks Jack, for a much needed slice of this pie…
And thank you, Wendy and Adam, for the taste.

A rose by any other name, Jack! I suspect that you remember all the real names–the words that breathe life into– each little thing in our heaven on earth. I'll be the woman that holds God's groceries so's not to reserve his carrying arm from your gift, your relief. Thank you, Cultural Weekly! More, more, please?

Your words flow…seem so effortless in the making. I know this is not so, that you work hard at it, but there is such an ease to how the words reach out to me. Thank you.

Oh, Grapes. You are the essence. Yes, you are. This poem is getting me through the heat.

This poem puts the Buddha smile on my face. Yes, diamonds of light and droplets of peace.

Loved the guided tour to heaven. Refreshing. We need more of this and less of The Dark Night.

I've always said you're the gatekeeper for pure creativity. Now I find out you're really just watering humanity for the big guy. Sheesh I shoulda known. Good job.

Jack, as always your poems are at once simple and elegant in their simplicity. Thank you for sharing it with the writing community and thanks to Wendy Rainy for making that possible. Please do more! – Daniel O'Madigan Gribble

i love this

Remarkable work Jack. I love this poem.

Jack – love your poem and your gift of seeing beauty. God is lucky to have you watering him:)

Mmm. I can smell the wet summer grass. Beautiful piece. Wish I could trade in the concrete parking lot across the street for a yard and a hose. Can I also say how nice it is to stop for a moment and read a poem? Just to block out the chaos of the day for a few minutes and read something that awakened my imagination and brought red to the cheeks of my weekday robot-self… That was nice. Thank you for the escape.

I do live around the corner

Although I’m not the one with the groceries

It is nice to see you nurturing

Your garden

Your family

Your being

Refreshing

This is exquisite. Please feature Jack Grapes more. Please feature poetry more.

You placed smack dab in the middle of summer, standing beside you, lost in a daze diamonds of water and words. I did not want to go back inside. Jack, this poem is great, just great. Thanks for the sense memories. And thanks to Cultural Weekly, Adam and Wendy for answering the question as to who will elevate the conversation. You have.

Beautiful, unpretentious poem. It reminds me of a line from one of my favorite songs, "I am not Jesus, though I have the same initials, I am the man who stays home and does the dishes, and how was your day?" God is in the details.

A poem to be read again and again and to be shared with every-and anyone—so off to FB Land it goes!!!

this man and his words are a gift to this earth
he deserves to be our next poet laureate

I love this poem….smells of summer and life and with enough whimsy to make you smile. Thank you for publishing. More poems please

Mr. Grapes,

Your images reverberate like fine wine ! Watering my garden now has a spiritual quality.

Thanks to the Cultural Weekly's folks like Wendy, we can enjoy such treats.

You da man.

Humorous, subtly profound. A true gem.

Jack, this is a beautiful reminder to water the gardens of our lives wherever we are in this world.

Mr. Grapes, I presume. Just the thing, some literate lemonade to kick back and inhale summer. My turn for the hose! best regards, Joe K.

Uh fine image moment…but one thing…There is no friggin' God! Stop the propaganda!

dear satan,
don't be so gullible.
just because a poet from Los Angeles says there's a god,
you gonna take it at face value?!?!
you should read my other poems,
especially the one that says
"God forgives me for knowing he doesn't exist."
Now, you! We all know you're real.
Do you ever play poker?
jack

A wonderful, oddly touching poem. So simple — it builds, and builds with small details so that the water planted a seed inside my soul and nourished it. I felt like a new flower in reading this poem. You have an amazing ability to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary. Thank you.

So simple and down to earth, bringing the moment to life, yet so very profound and poignant, with a touch of humor. I, like Lisa, got goosebumps. Thank you Jack for giving me that moment, and thanks to Cultural Weekly for allowing Jack’s blooms to flourish.

God is a very lucky woman. Thank you for publishing this beautiful poem, Cultural Weekly. Jack Grapes is a treasure.

Mifanwy

Jack, you amaze me as always since I first met you years ago. Your poems are an entry into the "other" world.

Beautiful, Jack! Thank you!!

Jack, you follow your own best advice, and “write like you talk.” I was out there on the lawn with you, feeling the spray from the hose, and musing about what the present moment means.

Wendy, thanks for gifting us with Jack’s poem.

Absolutely beautiful Jack. You are the gatekeeper of putting feeling to words, water to our souls and smiles to our faces. WOW. I feel so moved, keep sprinkling your amazingness for the world to be refreshed by.

You already water God with every word that you write!