Given I was given these two hands, these two feet; I was given them without asking and they are mine. With my feet on your body I do walk on frozen ground where coyotes step, fishers, raccoons, and quail. With my breath I inhale your sweet liquor, the cold snap of four degrees; how my lungs crave your air inside me, its green perfume, though now your body is slick with ice, hard with frost, tasting green though I must cover … [Read more...]
News and updates
Somehow it's September. Are you like me and wondering where the summer went? Well, at least I still have a vacation attitude in that I remain indolent and easily distracted. Contributors to Solace in So Many Words have been busy. I want to remind you again that Jan Bottiglieri's new chapbook "Where Gravity Pools the Sugar" is out from Finishing Line Press. Daniel Chacón has revamped his website. His next book," is a hybrid of flash-stories and loops in text and … [Read more...]
New poem by Laura Rodley
Fresh From the Vine My father stood on his hands to dive off the diving board, all six foot four inches of him suspended in air, curling his fingers around the hard edge of the gritty grey board, and dove off. He never missed but one of the last times I saw him do this when I was 10 or 11, his ring cut into his finger from the weight of him standing on his hands. Down he dove with a sliced finger and his ring had to be cut off and he needed stitches. … [Read more...]
Laura Rodley “Coyotes”
Coyotes Coyotes leave deep paw prints in new snow, traipsing east to west in search of the sun, so many miles before the dawn when they curl and sleep buried by snow and leaves. There are buck tracks too, a line alongside the coyote, each walking the same path as me, but not hunting each other just on the move while I search for sleep and wish for the lightness of breathing freezing cold air minus seven below, wearing my … [Read more...]
Laura Rodley, Montague City Road
“Not even the tiniest incident of beauty slips past Laura Rodley's watchful eye. . . . ” This is a quote from Boston Literary Magazine Chapbook Review about Laura’s collection of poetry, Your Left Wheel is Coming Loose. I heartily concur. I first became familiar with Laura’s work when we both had work in Kiss Me Goodnight. Her poem “Addicted” is in Solace in So Many Words and she has let me publish "If I Had a Horse"on this website. Last week I put out a call for … [Read more...]