Fulfilling my obligations to my long-neglected TBR one book a time. Want to know why? I explain it in the first post here. Posting striking lines daily on BlueSky

The thing I love about Poetry magazine is the rhythm. They rarely publish just a single poem, but generally give each poet space in 3 or 4 poems. This gives you a chance to get into the swing of a poet before moving on. It’s like a kind of brachiation. I also love that they publish poems in languages other than English.

The highlights of this particular issue for me include the 14 or so poems by the late Bert Meyers. I love the short intro essay by Dana Levin. I had never heard of Bert Meyers so the context was most welcome. And while I didn’t love each and every poem chosen for the magazine, I was deeply moved by a couple of them. The man was a master of short, sharp images.

Take these from the poem called L.A. “The world’s largest ashtray” and “…the palm trees, / exotic janitors, / sweep out the sky at dusk.”

And these lines from “Homecoming” about his father: “His hands are cobwebs full of flies / trembling in his lap.” Anyone who has cared for an aged parent nearing the end knows those hands.

After that, there is nothing more to say.