Featured Poet: Lisa Bourbeau, Francestown
Lisa Bourbeau shares a mountainside with five greyhounds, a neglected garden, and assorted wildlife. Her work has appeared in several magazines, anthologies and journals. Her first book, Cuttings From the Garden of Little Fears, was published by First Intensity Press in 2003.
Of her showcase poem, Lisa writes:
"The poem Cadenza was written for, and to memorialize, Adeline Brown, an extraordinary woman and a beloved friend. Addy fiercely fought and last year lost her battle with ovarian cancer. "
cadenza
for adeline brown
it’s a trap, addy
this life, or the next
fog under fingernails,
sea glass fragmenting the sill,
the sleight of hand of rivers, dark woods,
shallows deepened churning shadows,
…a constant
shucking off of light…
weeping cherry, dragonfly, dwarf iris, phlox….
and the early shoots!
they are green enough
for one whole shrunken season.
each matters
or not
first and last
to stand against and be defined by
this sky
that inclines itself toward
nothing—
…to be sheer color,
cloud burdened, without shape,
estranged…
see the moon, held captive
in each pale curl
of breath. always
the eye persists, steel jawed,
snapping away
fallen
crumbs in an apron pocket
a nest under the eaves
twilight reshaping
the harsh lines
impeccable distance
cruel as barbed wire strung
against an otherwise kind
but wholly imperfect
white expanse
For more information about Lisa Bourbeau visit:
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