New Poem in Epoch

 I have a new poem in Epoch, a literary journal out of Cornell University. This poem is available only through print copies of the journal (not online). Usually I don't post my poems that appear only in print journals, as it would be best to encourage prospective readers to buy a copy of the journal, to support the journal that has supported my work by publishing it. That has been my policy, but I am wondering if it's an efficacious personal policy, as no one has ever told me that they have bought a copy of a journal to just read my poem.

So, if anyone reads this blog (and why would they? nobody reads blogs anymore) and has an opinion on the matter, let me know what you think. Would you, or do you, post poems that appear only in print journals and are not available online? 

Meanwhile, this time I am posting the poem that appears in Epoch, to see how it feels, to see what happens. 

Winnowed 

I want to want to be good.
I want to want to be used by God. 

That one degree of separation— 

 jellyfish wish: to be 

a bell the color of water 

 submerged, held by the water 

it holds yet 

never becoming the water. 

 This asymptotic ache, this spat-out 

lukewarmness, this inside-out hairshirt— 

a wavering, this oneness with wind. 

Like Saint Augustine, like Jonah not yet swallowed— 

I wish I wished to rise 

from this hammock to herald, 

to summon, to be someone 

else.                       Windfall apples.

New Poem at En*Trance

 I have a new poem at the fairly newish journal En*Trance, alongside two of my poetry idols, Jane Hirshfield and Danusha Lameris--eeek. Their guidelines ask for "poems about altered states." So the journal has an interesting mission.

My poem appears wonky on my screen; it's supposed to be two stanzas of seven lines each. However, when I asked the editors, they sent me a screen shot of their screen, where it looked just as it was supposed to. Hopefully on your screen, it appears correctly.

Anyway, here it is, That Moment. 

New Poem at Redivider

 Delighted to have a poem in Redivider Issue 23.1, out of Emerson College. This issue is one of their Blurred Genre series. The title of my poem is 'Visual Purple.' 

This poem obliquely describes a scientific experiment to determine if the last image one sees before death is recorded on one's retina. I'm interested in this (specious) idea for various reasons: because I have an interest in true crime, and because a beloved family member suffers from a disease of the retina.

Thanks to editors JP Legarte and Haley Brock, and a particular shout-out to Olivia Johnson for her careful work on the layout and editing. 

Enjoy!

New Poem at Poet Lore

 Thanks to editor Emily Holland, I have a new poem at Poet Lore (Vol. 119, Winter/Spring 2025), with the longish title of 'Opacity in Seven Parts.'

Here's the first part of the poem:

Opacity, in Seven Parts

“Note that the word mute (from Latin mutus and Greek μύειν) is regarded by linguists as an onomatopoeic formation referring not to silence but to a certain fundamental opacity of human being, which likes to show the truth by allowing it to be seen hiding.” ~Anne Carson

*

My mind has many moving parts,

pulleys and levers and axles,

an endless Rube Goldberg contraption

whose chain action I cannot follow.

You want me to be more specific.

To do that, I must do two things:

put an asterisk on the words ‘My mind,’

and provide an elaborate footnote.

 

But if I put an asterisk there, I’d have

to put an asterisk everywhere. 

***

Here's a list of poets in the issue: Deidra Greenleaf Allan ● Christine Barkley ● Kimberly Blaeser ● Clara Burghelea ● Yosa Buson ● Josh Calladine ● Lauren Camp ● Todd Campbell ● MICHAEL CHANG ● Cortney Lamar Charleston ● Jo Blair Cipriano ● Melissa Crowe ● Monica Cure ● Emerson Dawes ● Gregory Djanikian ● Asa Drake ● Kinsale Drake ● Meg Eden ● Luke Eldredge ● Sarah Ellis ● Joshua Gage ● Gabriella Garcia ● Brandi George ● Jana-Lee Germaine ● Jessica Goodfellow ● Justin Groppuso-Cook ● Claire Hermann ● Victor Hugo ● John James ● Kaylee Young-Eun Jeong ● Kang Jijaedang ● W. Todd Kaneko ● Elina Katrin ● Patrick Kindig ● BEE LB ● Suphil Lee Park ● Ștefan Manasia ● Kaecey McCormick ● Rachel Morgan ● Maureen Morris ● Cindy Juyoung Ok ● Kyle Okeke ● Elise Paschen ● Natalie Perman ● Lizzy 柯 (Ke) Polishan ● Jessica Nirvana Ram ● Rainer Maria Rilke ● Arthur Rimbaud ● Sally Rosen Kindred ● Henk Rossouw ● Amanda Maret Scharf ● Andrej Stankovič ● Sarah Anne Stinnett ● Jennifer K. Sweeney ● Julene Waffle ● Maggie Wang ● Danielle Weeks ● Katherine J. Williams ● Matthew Wimberley ● Terri Witek ● Allya Yourish

Enjoy!

New Poem at Action, Spectacle

 I have a new poem in Action, Spectacle, thanks to editor Adam Day. Check it out alongside the work of Beth Ann Fennelly, Maureen Alsop, Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Ellen Kombiyil, and so many others.