The day after Thanksgiving. The weather has warmed so that going outside is comfortable again, though the paths and roads are slick. All day yesterday, we could hear the snow sliding off the roof. We sat and ate turkey and pie and talked about the sorrows that have come into our community lately—too soon in winter for so much inexplicable pain.
It’s hard to write about, so here’s a poem.
The way “November”
settles in the mouth:
the dark “n” and “v”, the chilly
“b” and “r”, the hum of “m”
at the heart. The name of the month
rumbles through our days,
dragging the shadowed season
with it. Snow falls and packs
beneath our feet. The moon hangs
half-hearted in the dark afternoon
sky; the night a tunnel we
plunge into with hope
that when daylight comes,
we all wake from darkness
to morning, rich with coffee,
the air tart with cut oranges,
with deep umber light
spreading to pink in the sky.
Tags: Fairbanks, fall, negative space, Psyche, winter
Mattie's Pillow 
December 4, 2009 at 12:52 am
When can your fans expect your next poetry book?
December 4, 2009 at 1:06 am
Glow, Salmon Press of Ireland (see the link under Writing Links) has sent me a contract with a publishing date of February 28, 2010. Keep your fingers crossed that nothing glitches!
The chapbook is still available at Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press (see Writing Links). She’s put it on Amazon and it’s available locally at Gulliver’s, but ordering directly from her helps her know there’s some readership. I admit I need to do more to get the chapbook circulated.
After the semester’s over!