Outlier That cold cube of ice against a flurry of fire escape lips, naughty raprap knuckles so far beyond initial infraction, dead batteries for a dyingworld; I am twisted nerve endings like internal ponytails on the pull,and feelings don’t mean … Continue reading
Turning Dials You can bleed out in the heartlandand never find a pulse,turning dials on odd contraptionsthat almost turn themselves,dustbowl feathers for the screeching Thunderbirdof myth, this sorry welling of brackish bail water,silly corn maze competitions where no one ever … Continue reading
Earmarked It starts like nothing else does –with a simple marker: felt-tipped,Harlem black, that liquorice smell that is supposedto warn of something toxic to the humansurvivals; a simple line drawn down the earlobeso that something has been earmarkedfor something else, … Continue reading
Tyre Swing Hung from Tree Not a single child about,just this single tyre swing hung from tree,one of those thick ropes that you only seein school gymnasiums that burn the palmsof those forced to climb them,and the base of the … Continue reading
Tell me a bit about yourself I never know where to start with this question for some reason. I live in Indiana (US) with my husband and two kids and a couple of cats. Oh, and fish. We have … Continue reading
May: Great Blue Heron Look, I want to love this worldas though it’s the last chance I’m ever going to getto be aliveand know it. —Mary Oliver, ‘October’ Busy inhabiting my world—blazing car, radio blather,coffee buzz that wouldn’t last— I … Continue reading
The Frog’s Voices I listen to the voices of night frogs croaking,in the late hours of the night, and try tounderstand the meaning of their messagesechoing off the silver moon: Their hoarse voices curl through my sleepy,mind, sewing strange thoughts … Continue reading
Applause of a Nightmare Applause of a nightmareresounds in my room I try to cover my earswith floating images of you But on the stage of boring energy,I can’t escape from the applause I don’t know what to singI don’t … Continue reading
Tell us about your journey towards publishing your book, Portia The Pear. What inspired you to write for children? Who is the illustrator? My journey started in infant school when I was encouraged to join a library, because I had read … Continue reading
You are Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at California State University, Fullerton. Tell us about your days there as editor of South Coast Poetry Journal. The English Department at CSUF was generous toward its faculty in many ways, … Continue reading