Sunday, December 4, 2011

Eye Candy

It's true that I decorate for the holidays partly in candy: red and green M&Ms in clear glass dishes strewn on tables around the house. It's possible to go through a lot of decorations that way, but later there's no storage problem. I will serve some to my poetry workshop this afternoon!

Here is the new issue of Stirring with a beautiful picture of Vero Beach by Stephanie Stair on the cover/contents page. More than eye candy!

I have a poem in this called "Blue Blood Moon," written during the moon-gazing fall. It's kind of sad and scary, but I like it, and dusting a desk lamp gave me a crucial image. Blood moon is one of the names of a full October moon (see Farmer's Almanac), and a blue moon is an extra full moon in a season, so I put them together and got this, though now the term "blue blood" resonates a bit for me as the end of aristocracy, as I just saw a beautiful production of Three Sisters at Heartland Theatre, and I can't remember the Italian for "window" or "ceiling." I understudied Irina years ago at Steppenwolf Theater, so my past is laying me flat with steamroller force...

Oh, yes, this is a Random Coinciday in the blog. Thanks to Dezidor for the Christmasy red and green steamroller. And to the editors of Stirring for taking my poem. I'm off to church for the second Sunday of Advent, taking my mini-sculptures of "greens" for the wreath, and some glittery pine cones with red ribbons.

13 comments:

Nancy Devine said...

love, love, love your poem.

Kathleen said...

Thank you, Nancy! And I've enjoyed your poems in past issues of Stirring, too!

Hannah Stephenson said...

Excellent work, and thanks for introducing me to this publication---I like their aesthetic!

Kathleen said...

Thanks, Hannah! Check out their archives, too!

Sandy Longhorn said...

Awesome images in that poem, and I love that mundane housework led you to one of those images. Thanks for introducing me to a new publication as well.

You rock, as always.

Kathleen said...

Thanks, Sandy. Yes, send them some work--they are mostly a monthly, though I notice they made up the month Novober for their last issue. I love that!

Yes, getting images for poems from housework (or during housework) keeps me from being an utter slattern...though I am glad still to honor Slattern Day in my blog!

Maureen said...

Wonderful poem, Kathleen. I love that first line. I plan to look at the work at Stirring; it's new to me.

Kathleen said...

Thanks, Maureen. I'm so glad this has alerted some fine poets to a nice online venue!

JulieK said...

When the lovely Irina said the line, I remember thinking that window was one of the few words I *do* remember in Italian. Finestra! FenĂȘtre in French. I think it was the Latin version that gave us the lovely word "defenestrate," to toss someone out a window.

seana graham said...

I liked the poem very much as well. It for some reason reminds me of the rather odd windy nights we've had around here lately. A blue blood moon would not have been out of place.

Kathleen said...

Julie, I remember the French for "window," too, and never in real life knew the Italian! Also, I always remember Irina's line as "I can't remember the Italian for 'window' or 'door,'" which is some skewing either of mine or Moira's now forever lodged (in English) in some curlicue of my origami brain.

Seana, thanks. Weather is fascinating, isn't it, as is the night sky.

seana graham said...

Defenestrate is wonderful. I just saw someone on The Amazing Race defenestrate a bug. I felt a bit bad for the bug, though.

Kathleen said...

Ew, Seana. So, definitely not eye candy, that bug, eh?!

Unless, hey, it was winged?!