Earl Simmons, better known as the rapper DMX, died last week. I didn’t know much about him or his raps; the only music of his that was even slightly familiar to me was “Party Up (Up in Here)." But the more I read about him on Twitter and heard about him on The Breakfast Club and other news reports, the more I wanted to learn about him. People called him a poet and a preacher. In an MTV interview, DMX said he thought of his lyrics as poetry. He appeared on Def Poetry with a … [Read more...]
Starting again
Why, Hello! This site has been on hiatus for months now. I’ve been uninspired to post and uninspired in general. But I’m hoping to start again, especially as April is Poetry Month. Also, this year marks the ten-year anniversary of Solace in So Many Words. By submitting this photo, Laura Rodley provided the gentle nudge I needed. Thanks! Peace, love, and solace A frequent contributor to this site, Massachusetts poet Laura Rodley, is also … [Read more...]
Mother’s Day poem by Laura Rodley
It’s Mother’s Day weekend. Hope you have sunny weather ahead. How nice to open my email and receive this poem from Laura Rodley, the Massachusetts poet whose work is often featured here and in other places such as the New Verse News (where her poem Pushcart-winning poem Resurrection appeared in 2013). She is also a freelance writer for publications such as Country Folks. I can always count on her to give me something imagistic, evocative and full of feeling. These days … [Read more...]
How the egg came to be eaten (a myth of my own making)
How the egg came to be eaten Certain foods have their reputes. Oysters. Ginseng. You can guess why the tomato, fragile as a beating heart, is the apple of love. The egg used to be more potent, but on a laconic day when the spring buds sighed amid a dank appeal to dormancy, with Persephone just on her way back, Hera decided it was time her mate learn to appreciate her. She fed Zeus the first egg, knowing it would give him a woman’s pain. She’d forgiven him … [Read more...]
Happy 2020: clear vision and vague intentions
It’s the last blog of the year so it feels like it should be important. But it isn’t. Sorry. No big news to report. No ambitious resolutions to tell you about. As my friend Tena Russ posted on FB, “I don’t have resolutions. I have vague intentions.” I did have a poem published in December; if you want to check it out, visit Dodging the Rain and read "When I said I love you." Disclaimer: it isn't very jolly. 2020. I guess if anything, I will take the year literally and … [Read more...]
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