Hey everybody, how are you doing? It’s the end of August and here in Western Washington, some of the trees are beginning to turn color. Well, a little bit anyway. Today I met up with some girlfriends for coffee. We are a small group of women writers. Before the pandemic, we used to get together to edit each other’s work. Now we get together more or less to talk current events and “shoot the shit” as the saying goes. One of my friends suggested we read poems round-robin style today. It is days like this that make me feel rich. Conversations with friends, poetry, good coffee, sitting outside in beautiful Bellingham. It is good living. It is enough.
I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.
Walt Whitman
In 2014 I decided to act on a lifetime longing to know more about my biological origins. Ordering a 23andMe DNA test was the first step. My personal adoption story is shared in a “DNA” series. Only one poem came out of the experience, and I’ll never submit it for publication. Here is Castaway.
Castaway
I am a yolk inside an egg
first light backlit behind mother’s skin
Morning glows gently
through her Texas accent
It’s about to rain in Seattle
Clouds dark-gray-pregnant with drops
hover over Yesler Way
Latin guitars labor heel slaps
against slats laid on the café floor,
serenade woodblock prints
balanced by wires against the red wall
Joker behind me gets up
throws something in the basket
It’s Wednesday afternoon
smashed into a ball
Here is what’s making me laugh this week. Take care of yourself.
shannon p. laws 