Signs of Life
SUPPORT THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Poems & Books
Being a poet is not really a life plan, it is certainly not a sensible way to make a living, and most of your friends are not really that interested if they are being honest. Meanwhile, the words pour out sometimes, and now and then they come together in a way that fits just right. The best way to know if it's right is to get yourself out to an open mic and read your work! There will be the susurrus of listening, the little ah's and sighs that let you know you have hit the mark. I have two books published and I'm working on the next one. Here is a cover shot of the first.
I am immensely grateful for the support of the creative community in western Massachusetts that fosters so much good writing and encourages so many brave readers and spoken word pioneers.
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All the poetry on this page is my original work. Most has been published, not all. Don't steal from me please, if you share my work give attribution and send me a note to let me know where my words travel to.
You can order books directly from me, or on Amazon.
Dina reading live at the Garlic & Arts Festival ~ 2019
shroud
from our fathers we are gifted
half the sky
the rest we must fly on our own
from our mothers we are gifted
half the earth
the rest we must dig on our own
I'm not sure how it is
that we begin to know
in our fingers in our hearts
how to spin threads of continuity
through & through to sustain
a coherent existence
in the grace of a last breath
it is this quilt of
sewn together elements
all of sky
all of earth
pierced & pulled whole
just then a summation
with this self made cloth
we cover our bodies our faces
when finally our eyes have closed
Piper, Adventure Dog!
'Keening' is one of the poems included Old Bones & True Stories.
Keening
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my dog died & I can't
remember who I am
nothing smells right
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the house is too quiet
the squirrels grow bold
the neighbor's cats too
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other dogs bicycles &
passerby go unchallenged
deliveries & visitors unheralded
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the crows have no nemesis
to scold or tease
the rabbits think they’ve won
at inopportune moments
I want only to
rock on my haunches
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let my head fall back
with my throat open wide howling into the silence