another daydream

another daydream

Friday, February 23, 2024

"A Voice for Navalny"

The New Verse News features my poem "A Voice for Navalny." 
I lean on Irina... what would she say? 

Please read here: https://thenewversenews.substack.com/i/141892157/a-voice-for-navalny

Grateful to the editor of this journal, James Penha, for choosing poetry that sheds light on current events.


Friday, February 16, 2024

By Request

There are many ways that poetry happens, and one way is by request. Each time I've been commissioned to write a piece, it has felt like a blessing. In one case, a blessing on the pandemic; in another case, a blessing on a life suddenly ended. This is sacred work––to be entrusted to create a tribute, elegy, or ode for a specific person or scenario. 

A commissioned poem is never shared by me without permission. It's typically private, a gift. In our era of sharing everything under the sun, I keep some work out of the public eye. This is my code of ethics. 

In times of grieving, of doubt, of loneliness, art can be an answer. I've worked as a dance therapist for many years. My mindset is that art is healing. Poetry heals. Find a poem that moves you. Remember that you can ask for one that hasn't come into existence, that's waiting to be born.

Feel free to comment below. You can also send me a message on Instagram @charhogepoet.

Warm wishes,
Charise


Monday, January 29, 2024

"Walk to Twilight"

    Walk to Twilight

 

    Jilted tree,

    jingle bells played

    out, on its side

 

    at the curb.

    Vestige

    of a dog-eared

    calendar.

 

    Blanketed bronze

    “Homeless Jesus”

    curled up against

    a sculpted bench

    … crucified feet

    uncovered.

 

    Its replica

    swaddled in cloth

    against a metro grate

    … grown man folded

    into a fetal position.

 

    Sliver of moon slung

    like a hammock

    across the semidarkness.

 

    The rest of the silver orb,

    the lot of felled pine,

    the contour of the womb

 

    are out of the picture.

 

 

    ~LCMH

 

 

 

Monday, January 15, 2024

Banned Bird

You never know what you'll find at an arts festival in Hardy County, West Virginia. When I prepare my poetry table at the annual Art on Cullers Run, I am surrounded by extraordinary artists and makers. Last year I fell in awe with an art piece by Michele Mouré: a sculpted book that pays homage to Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou's book has been banned in certain areas of the United States, and Mouré's art exists in this context.


A photo doesn't capture the three-dimensionality of this piece, but it gives you a view. An eye-opening view. 

Warm wishes,
Charise

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Wrapping Up With The New York Times

Maybe you saw some movies this year and maybe one or two made The New York Times list of best movies of 2023. As a reader of this newspaper, I was surprised at a couple of omissions from their list: the fine film "The Holdovers," and Greta Gerwig’s layered fable "Barbie." My comment to this effect was excerpted and quoted in a follow up article of The New York Times on December 15. 

My, my... speak up! You may be heard. You may be published. Your perspective matters. Also, metaphor is dramatic. Among 700 reader comments, editor Robin Kawakami chose 4, including this poet's words:


 
Lisbon storefront (Barbie gets around)

Here's the full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/arts/readers-best-movies-tv-music-theater.html

Cheers,
Charise

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Clue Number Two

 

I made a promise to provide hints about an upcoming poetry collection. My photo capture of a plaque on the sidewalk of Library Way in New York City is the second clue. (If you missed the first one, it's the post dated August 29.) 

"If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people" is a quote by the writer Virginia Woolf. Intrigued?

Cheers,
Charise

Friday, November 17, 2023

"Earth Tone"

 Earth Tone

 

We set out to knead the mountain

while it gives,

before the crusty surface hardens,

while it leavens

orange yellow reddish leaves

while fall turns

round like the wind-up of a music box

while it plays

the same song yearly, more dear 

while we recall

forgetting how the season

waltzes in

 

 ~LCMH