59 Comments

Love that first poem

Brilliant use of Forever 21

And the triple use of “break”

And the conceit that the onlookers were peeking from her purse

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Agreed, so good! x

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What a beautiful collection you've assembled here, Maya! I loved sitting with each of these poems and am so grateful to have mine included. Wow, I don't even know where to begin on what resonated with me . . . everything!? I pretty much read every poem, thinking each time, oh THIS ONE, this is the poem I'm going to quote and mention in my comment. And now here I am with a dozen gorgeous lines swirling in my head and no ability to choose a favorite. I just went ahead and followed every poet here and subscribed to a few, as well.

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So, so glad, Lisa. Thank you for being you. 💛

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A surfeit of beauty and wisdom; great memorable lines- “evolutionarily speaking, something is out of place”!! I felt that resonate and still do: something definitely out of whack around here. Damage already done, and we never got it back. The fiercest predators kneel in rapture- velociraptor?

The little plot twists at the end: ashes falling into the green sod. Her picture cut out of the photographs, sooo carefully.

Thank you, poets ❤️‍🔥🫶❤️‍🔥

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💛💛💛

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The Dust especially spoke to me.

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I hope Kathleen sees this! (She's in CWC too) xx

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Maya, I’m so honored to be included among such fine company. As I wade through my post-MFA detox period and all the ups and downs of that, it really is an honor. Thanks for all you do!

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Thank you for your kindness, Marko (and that fantastic poem)

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I really enjoyed yours. That last stanza is excellent. Thank you for sharing it.

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Thanks for reading, Derek.

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Nice job, poets - I like these. Especially Shipwreck which made me think of an urn my father is in.

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Thank you, Tom (and 💛)

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Loved this exercise! Hope you repeat sometime.

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I will for sure. Thanks so much, Celia. x

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you’re such a gift to us all. thank you 🖤

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As are you! x

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Wonderful poems. Thank you all🙏😊

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Thank you for reading, Frances!!!

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Thank you so much, Maya! This is such a sweet honor to be included. I appreciate you and all the work you do to cultivate this community. Thank you for letting me be a small part of it today! 💞

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Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful work. 💛

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Thanks to Maya and everyone on here for this life-affirming and spirit-uplifting weekend read..

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Thank you for your beautiful poem.

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What a magnificent, life-affirming selection. Much needed after the past week of lies and chainsaws and stiff-armed salutes.

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Agreed 💛

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ending of "Grief" --so expressive of the heart of grief. thank you Richard.

"When I was a Girl..." --great imagery, allegory; "our wildness an eternal now".

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Yes, love those too!

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They're all quite good. 'Security Deposit' and 'Grief' seem to both contain a certain sting. Thank you for this selection of up and coming poets, Maya.

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Thanks so much, Jesse. And I loved reading your poem there too.

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Oh my goodness. These words.

The ones that spoke to me most:

“we’re replacing our cabinet knobs / because we can’t change the world” (Agodon)

“my slot machine memory…” (MacDonald)

“You hold an absence / at your center / as if it were a life” (Brostoff)

“reeks of paradise” (Bridget)

And so many more. But the whole pieces are masters of composition — it isn’t just these single lines. Thank you, thank you for bringing these to us!

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I tried to find my favorite but could not. They are all good poems. Thanks for posting them!

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Thank you for reading, Karen! 💛

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