Dear Hafiz
You make it seem so easy
Like the words & nature & your heart & your pen
are collected & connected in one sustained & precise moment
Like flow is inevitable & if you move a sofa or tilt your head
you find poems alive & giddy & open-palmed – daring you to catch them
But deeper because you know a poem needs never to be caught
A poem is not a bandit
A poem is your soul’s mirror & you understand
how choosing to look changes everything &
You stare like you were born to stare at beautiful things
& write about them I can hear you whispering…
It is easy when easy is a handful of sand & you are the hand
& the wind & the lapping lips of the shore
when you are the poem & the poet
TONIGHT – POETRY PARTY! 10:30PM!
Remember when we used to go dancing…and we wouldn’t show up at the bar until 11pm…and the dance floor didn’t fill up until midnight?! Remember how our muscles could move like liquid all night? Well, let’s tap into that magic tonight as we head to the Planet Earth Poetry reading with our friends out in Victoria! You can wear your jammies!
Join our poetry party that begins with an open mic and then is followed with me reading and sharing. I can’t wait to engage with you!
If you’d like to read at the open mic, you have until 3pm EST time and 12pm PST today to sign up.
The link to enter the zoom will be available at 10:15pm EST/7:15PM PST.
Everything you need to join the open mic and join the zoom is RIGHT HERE IN THIS LINK!
THANK YOU!
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Palimpsest Press Spring Book launch last night! Congratulations again to my fellow published writers: Tolu Oloruntoba, Margaret Christakos and Nathaniel G Moore. Thank you to host Jim Johnstone, to publisher Aimee Parent Dunn.
To purchase any of the fine Palimpsest Press books, including those celebrated last night, please CLICK HERE.
SUNDAY, MAY 16, 2021
The All Write in Sin City gang, Sarah, Irene and Kim, will post our conversation about Thimbles this Sunday! OOOO! I’m so excited to share this with you! Here’s a sweet teaser!
To view the full episode, please visit their Youtube Channel or their website!
And be sure to stick around and watch and listen to the many other episodes they’ve compiled. Prepare to be inspired!
NEXT THURSDAY’S EVENT W/ MARGO WHEATON!
Wherein poet Margo Wheaton and I read our poetry and have a grand conversation about the process of writing about family, home, place and identity.
Please pre-register for the zoom event! There will be open chat and Q & A as well!
Poetry & The Family
Thursday, May 20, 2021
Time: 7pm EST/8pm ATL
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_0jwxSVYiRK-rOoIfNo_6wwAfter registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
VANESSA SHIELDS, writer 