One of my favorite local poets, Valentine Pierce, has begun a personal blog Poet Sense and Sensibilities. I've written here about her since I first discovered her poetry back in 2007 with the publishing of her book Geometry of the Heart. Here is a sample of her work and one of my favorite poems of hers:
Rivers of My Soul
by Valentine Pierce
My soul has grown deep like the rivers, he said:
Euphrates, Congo, Nile, Mississippi.
I close my eyes, repeat the words
over and over and over.
I know these waters;
my spirit has lingered in these waters.
my soul understands
even though the only river I’ve ever known
is the muddy Mississippi.
I loved my first love there and remember
the world pausing in the sweet joy of it;
shared my secret dreams with a friend
as we sat on the jagged rocks of it’s banks;
cried my life’s sorrow on it’s shoulders
as the sun rose and danced on tugboat waves;
got lost in the saxophone solos and guitar strings
of sidewalk musicians at twilight.
The muddy Mississippi —
It’s bittersweet rememberances
will linger in my soul for all eternity
and my soul, too, will grow deep like the rivers.
(Published with the author’s permission.)
Valentine participated on a writers panel at Rising Tide 2 in 2007 that discussed how their experience of Hurricane Katrina had affected their work. Maitri wrote her impressions of the writers panel here. (Speaking of Rising Tide, click here for information about this years' conference coming in August.)
I hope you'll visit Valentine and give her your support in the newest work from her heart.
Valentine and me at Rising Tide 2
(Cross-posted from Casa de Charlotte Della Luna.)
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