Happy Birthday, Sylvia

“The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past.” ~ Sylvia Plath Happy birthday, Sylvia. I’ve been reading her poetry this morning – so relatable, so poignant – and thought I’d share one of my favorites. There are so many opinions of Sylvia: that she was a genius, that she was tragic, that she was only an appendage of Ted Hughes. I think she was a woman, flawed and beautiful, like most. I think she did the best she could. There’s no doubt … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Sylvia

Cento: When I Go

Think of me as grass stain, skinned knee, sliver of new moon, unseen tremors or the chill rasp of sparked surprise, rose petals and blood in the palm of your hand, teardrops coated in phosphorus. Say hosanna. Let it mean Save Me. ~~~ Credits: Milo Gallagher, Robert Okaji, Christina Clark, Christine Beck, Clare Martin, Erren Kelly. So this is my first attempt at the Cento, defined as “a poetic form made up of lines from poems by other poets” on Poets.org. Essentially, I perused the “poetry I like” tag on my Pocket account and pulled lines that spoke to me. … Continue reading Cento: When I Go

Recent Publications

My poem, “Another Poem About the Moon”, was just published in the new issue of Literary Orphans. Huge thanks to Mike Joyce, Scott Walden, and Peter Marra for allowing my work to grace their pages for the third time. I also want to thank Kaia Pieters, featured artist, for the beautiful photography that accompanies my piece and the others in this issue. Beautiful work, indeed. Earlier this month my poem, “Bring Down the Babies”, was published in the beautiful Mockingheart Review. This journal specializes in publishing poetry and is curated by the wonderful Louisiana poet Clare Martin. If poetry is … Continue reading Recent Publications

Real New Yorkers (9/11/16)

I read a poem a while back that said “real New Yorkers” don’t visit the 9/11 Museum. It’s only for tourists. It made me sad, soul-sad, in a way I can’t even describe. I thought about my own reaction when I visited. It was one of only two times in my life I burst into tears, shocking myself. I didn’t feel it coming, until it was there in all its’ raw power. The emotion that wells up unexpectedly is a part of our human-ness. I’ve thought of that poet’s words often, feeling a little lost for him, for his cynicism. … Continue reading Real New Yorkers (9/11/16)