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Public Poetry, Kevin Walzer's meditations on poetry, publishing, business, and other creative pursuits
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Kevin Walzer, a poet, poetry publisher, husband, and father.
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Thu, 28 Jun 2007
Book of the Day: Bird Missing from One Shoulder by Linda Annas Ferguson
In Bird Missing from One Shoulder, Linda Annas Ferguson lovingly recreates the entire world of her childhood, retelling not just family history but family experience. Consider this poem:
Making Biscuits
Mother has never operated
a motor vehicle
or programmed a VCR,
never danced in my father's arms
or listened to the trill of crystal
from the flick of her fingernail.
Each day she rises at five
to the tin music of morning
and the monotony
under the measure
of her breath, her memories
like someone else's life.
She finds comfort
in repetition,
gets lost
in the act of every day.
Her mind wanders
past the window.
Her hands form biscuits,
the dough an ivory cloud
to smooth for her children.
She kneads it with such ease
it barely touches
the heart of her palm.
Ferguson's craft is much like her mother's hands: shaping her lines carefully, effortlessly.