Tools & Ornaments by Tracy Rice Weber |
|
Even Dead, My Mother is Unreasonably Difficult to Appease
Please understand, I’ve worked overtime
to reconcile survivor’s guilty balance
against fate or God’s plan or whatever
you want to call the way shadows
surprise you with their puppet shapes.
For years, I’ve kept watch for a sign
to justify holding on to boxes of china and
clouded silver serving pieces. Their stories,
exposed to this atmosphere, have blackened.
What appears on the surface is more than
anyone should bear. Let’s take turns
at comfort, Mother, letting them go to
a well-lit vacant space. Places set
from another daughter’s tidy cupboard.
Please understand, I’ve worked overtime
to reconcile survivor’s guilty balance
against fate or God’s plan or whatever
you want to call the way shadows
surprise you with their puppet shapes.
For years, I’ve kept watch for a sign
to justify holding on to boxes of china and
clouded silver serving pieces. Their stories,
exposed to this atmosphere, have blackened.
What appears on the surface is more than
anyone should bear. Let’s take turns
at comfort, Mother, letting them go to
a well-lit vacant space. Places set
from another daughter’s tidy cupboard.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Longtime educator Tracy Rice Weber now teaches Creative Writing and Literature to undergraduates at Old Dominion University and poetry workshops for The Muse Writing Center in Norfolk, VA. A graduate of the ODU MFA Program, her work can be found in River River, The Bangalore Review, on Poets.org as a recipient of the Academy of American Poets College Poetry Prize, and forthcoming in CALYX. In 2021 her chapbook, All That Keeps Me, was published by Finishing Line Press. She lives with her husband and sons in Hampton, VA.
Longtime educator Tracy Rice Weber now teaches Creative Writing and Literature to undergraduates at Old Dominion University and poetry workshops for The Muse Writing Center in Norfolk, VA. A graduate of the ODU MFA Program, her work can be found in River River, The Bangalore Review, on Poets.org as a recipient of the Academy of American Poets College Poetry Prize, and forthcoming in CALYX. In 2021 her chapbook, All That Keeps Me, was published by Finishing Line Press. She lives with her husband and sons in Hampton, VA.
|
Publication Date: September 15, 2023
Paperback: $18.00 Publisher: Saint Julian Press, Inc. Language: English Paperback: 84 pages ISBN-13: 978-1-955194-16-7 For an advance copy, contact: Ron Starbuck or Tracy Rice Weber. |
Available Through ~ Ingram Content Group ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ IndieBound ~ Bookshop ~ Book Depository (UK) ~ Fine Book Distributors & Retailers
Saint Julian Press, Inc. * Houston, TX 77008 * Ron Starbuck ~ Publisher-CEO
Email: ronstarbuck@saintjulianpress.com * Web: www.saintjulianpress.com
Saint Julian Press, Inc. * Houston, TX 77008 * Ron Starbuck ~ Publisher-CEO
Email: ronstarbuck@saintjulianpress.com * Web: www.saintjulianpress.com
SAINT JULIAN PRESS, INC. © 2022
|
|
|
|
Web Hosting by IPOWER
|
|
|
Some pages may include Amazon Associates Program Links for Saint Julian Press, Inc.
As an Amazon Associate — Saint Julian Press, Inc. may earn funds from any qualifying purchases.
This arrangement does help to sustain the press and allow us to publish more books by more authors.
As an Amazon Associate — Saint Julian Press, Inc. may earn funds from any qualifying purchases.
This arrangement does help to sustain the press and allow us to publish more books by more authors.