Here is the poem that came out of that experience. The poem will never be submitted for publication. It is fluid thought, free range while it captures a moment in my life when I sat among them.
Category Archives: Madrona Grove
Master of Disguise
At the same time, what I can only imagine is a full-out attack from the Nigerian scammer army, I began to get 6-8 chat requests from people unknown to me a day. Men, really good-looking, age-appropriate men attempted to chat me up. How nice. It must be my new night cream. A response gives the stranger access to your account. In other words, you are in a fortified castle and lowering the gate, inviting the enemy to come in for a sitdown and biscuits.
Eyes Open
One night after the open mic, we took note and began to speculate who these mysterious people could be. What was their story? Did they know each other? Were they once married? My favorite theory was it was God, curious about the Bellingham Poetry scene.
Poem: Long Kiss Goodbye
I see a fish on a platter
in the center of my table
garnished with onions, lemons
a cut of dill and salt
The first cut into its flakey flesh,
soft bones gently come out from hiding
between the sedimentary chunks
and gems of peppercorn
Nosy Nostalgia
Typically I would find a booth, and hang out with a book, notepaper, and pen. Read, eat, and write. …and listen. My confession to the faithful 67 followers, I am nosy. I enjoy listening to the way people talk to each other, the rhythms, the tone. Two poems came out of this “hobby”. I’d like to share them with you today.
WWU’s “The Front” Interviews Corridor
“That’s such a noble idea,” said Ashok Bhargava, a contributor to Corridor who is the poet laureate of the Philippines, has published eight books of poetry in Hindi and English, and founded Writers International Network Canada and World Peace Poets.
“It touched me that we don’t have to be sitting in New York or Toronto to do those things. We could be in a small town and we can connect with community,” Bhargava said.
At the start, only a handful of artists submitted to Corridor. But after the 13-month-long project was complete, the zine had garnered the work of 27 poets and five artists.
Over the course of the project, encouragement from the community grew.
Corridor Celebrates!
We did it! Over 27 poets, 5 artists, +400 copies of the 10-paged zines printed and distributed over 13 months from Poetry Month 2022 to Poetry Month 2023! This month marks the final zine in this fun project. Over the next few weeks, I will share four of my favorite poems submitted to Corridor and submitted artwork as a remembrance of the year’s moments.
March Corridor
The March edition of Corridor is out and about. Please keep your eyes out for it around town. It’s a little 5×7 10-page zine, sitting there, wanting to wish you a good day. One more zine to go and the project will end. Poetry Month 2022 to Poetry Month 2023.
“Moss” is a sample of a poem in the zine. Hope you enjoy it.
Poem: THIS
The exhale of a horse steams up the imagination, relieves the tension
in my shoulders as Atlas sets the earth down for dinner.
The night is young and there is mischief afoot
The busy-squeak of a mouse shuffles the bush
climbs down into the trails under blackberry roots
February’s Corridor Blushes
Corridor, Vol. 11 went out to subscribers over the weekend, comments are making us blush a bit…
shannon p. laws 