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?
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
An immersive yoga retreat gave me a reset for... you name it... writing, meditation, outlook, and relating to the world at large. I'm celebrating twenty-five years of teaching yoga in the Washington, DC area (!). And this was my first international week long training. Life has its ongoing demands and obligations, after all. If you have the chance for a reset of some kind or another, take it.
 |
| Ponta Delgado, Azores |
The kindness of people who don't even know they are walking into a poetry reading when they enter a streetcar is downright incredible. Thanks to passengers who listened intently and thanked me as they exited!
We had some finger snapping going on at the close of certain poems––ones that hit a chord, that were especially liked. My voice was hoarse and heart full.
It's that time of year, and DC is getting ready to celebrate the arts. I'm thrilled to be joining this event for the fourth go-around, sharing poetry with fellow riders of the streetcar. This is, literally, poetry in motion... or locomotion.
Thank you to the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities for supporting local artists.
Cumbersome Summer
Japanese maple masquerades
as an ostrich, those leafy plumes
bushing out atop the slender leg
… we did a new planting, digging in
where the grass gave up and died
now the coral bells, astilbes, hostas
rabbits ravage, yet I’m rooting
for this garden to astonish
to come back with a vengeance
the bite taken out of her
to prosper as I hover over
this scrappy patch,
skimpy plumes pining for water,
upturned worm wriggling dirt’s desire,
a tiny Eden in the making
and here are two sling-back chairs,
one for you… be my companion,
like the ostrich too heavy-laden to fly.
~LCMH
Some say you can jinx a project with an announcement before it's a sure thing. I'm going to take a chance and give some credence to the work that's going on behind the scenes, a new book. The photo here hints at the title. Any guesses?
I'll sprinkle some other hints along the way, in future posts... a treasure hunt of sorts, until we're publication ready. This will be a full length collection. Thank you for being present as an imagined reader. You're in this project with me from the get-go.
