Great news! Mary, from the Independent Writers Studio office in Bellingham, confirmed this morning that my poem “No Marrow” was accepted for the December edition of Clover. Been a tough month for submissions; this news came at the perfect time. It is rather humbling to be amongst the poets and writers of the IWS.* Thank you, thank you~
I watch you
Hoping around the twigs
Hanging upside down
From the tiniest sliver of wood
Light and carefree
Yet obviously well fed
Beautiful colors
Lovely song
Be more like the birds,
they don’t worry, I think
How can I when my bones
Are not filled with air
But of heavy marrow?
Heavy with duty and plans
Weighed down with projects
Slighted by calendar dates
And numbers that don’t add up
My human flight drags by
Day to day, no bouncing here
But a determined searching
Looking for morsels to feed the spirit
Think like a bird-
I could be one-
Is it the state of mind that matters?
Or the transformation?
And when do the two become one?
Mind and matter
Flight and fancy
Living and alive
We are cousins little bird
As you hop around the maple
Barren of summer leaves
I watch and learn
My untamed past stirs in the blood
Reminding me of the origins
Forcing breath of life into
The marrow that weighs me down
**To learn more about Clover or The Independent Writers Studio please visit their website at:
shannon p. laws 