POEM: “Traitor” *AND* May Highlights

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“Traitor”

 

This morning I awoke to the news

our world leader may be a traitor

a sexually harassed girl was burned alive

a disturbed man brought gasoline

and lighters into Saint Patrick’s cathedral

a rock icon committed suicide

a local poet died

 

and yet this smile is traitor

to this world I inhabit,

because as I

smell the warm toast buttering the air

and hear my son’s videogame downstairs

 

all I can think is

I’m still breathing.

 

#

 

There has been so much happening in the last few weeks, with more ahead, so I’ll just do a quick recap of the highlights. Last Friday (5/10), I competed against poet John Walters in the Writing Knights sWord Fight and won! Then on Saturday (5/11) I read my poem, “Catching Fire,” at the Hessler Street Poetry Competition ; I did not win, although my poem was well received and was included in the anthology . Yesterday (5/16), I achieved a lifelong dream and saw a book I wrote on a library shelf , just waiting to be checked out !

This coming Tuesday (5/21), I will be reading my poetry at the Spring Into Action Fundraiser , which supports scholarships for first time candidates running for local office. My friend, musician Ed Amann , will be performing as well! So, as you can see, I’ve been truly fortunate to be part of such a supportive community of writers and readers. Thank you, all!

If you want to keep up in the interim between now and my next post, you can follow me on Twitter, FaceBook, or Instagram (links to the right beneath the blogroll). Until next time, have a lovely two weeks!