Hi, welcome to my blog.

I apologize for the dust and cobwebs I’ve been away for quite a while. To return to this space, I thought it would be fun to share some of the poems I've read this week and discuss them a bit. If you're new here, my name is Talicha J. and I’m a poet. I'll admit that I hated reading poetry, despite writing poems since I was a child. I didn't get it. I didn't understand line breaks, and I had many questions (do you pause? Why would you break the line instead of continuing? etc.). I also realized that I wasn't reading the kind of poetry I liked. Because I didn’t read enough to know what worked for me; I was only reading the "classics." Spoiler alert, I'm not a classics kinda gal.

The book that changed it all for me in 2016-ish was Bang Ditto by Amber Tamblyn. Yes, the actress who I knew best from her role as Tibby in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It was in a language I understood. The content was witty and had grit, which opened my eyes. I began to seek out poetry from writers born in my century. I’ll let you in on a little secret, I am still learning how to talk about poems. How to make connections, and articulate my feelings, so we are taking it easy today. But enough about me, let's get to why you're here. I know you're curious, so let's dive in!

If You're Staying, I'm Staying Too by Meg Day

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I happened to be in a workshop led by Bee LB shortly after I stumbled upon this poem. The theme of the workshop was self/body and we read a poem called "How to Wash Your Hands" by Stephen Ira”. The first line of that poem is "When I was a girl in Beverly Hills,". Which immediately called me back to Meg's line, "I was a woman once". Okay, I say immediately but that's not true. I kept thinking about Pluto and believing you were one thing for so long only to be told you weren't. Versus determining for yourself that you weren't. I tried to share with the group but I couldn't articulate it well then. So I just posted the poem's link in the chat.

One thing I liked about this poem was how clear the volta was. In the beginning, something was being taken away—identity. But we see Meg speaking up in the second half, claiming, "So we are frigid. So we stay relegated out here with our kin. I'll wear my fade tight & my tie loose". At the end of the day, how we are perceived is none of our business but others make it so. Meg acknowledges this in the last few lines, "I was a woman once, but that's not the farthest thing from the sun another universe might've let me be: another universe might've let us be." I realize I let the lines talk more for me here but remember I’m still learning how to do this, thanks for understanding! The bottom line is I like this poem and look forward to reading it again to dig deeper.

Song in My Heart by Diane Seuss

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Where to start with this poem? It's a short one, but it's FULL. I read this poem in Bee's workshop that I mentioned above. From the first line of this poem, "If there's pee on the seat it's my pee," I knew it was gonna be a hit. This poem opens up with the clear message that the narrator lives alone. Telling us whatever you see going on here is because they made it so. To be honest, it's one of the best and worst parts of living on your own. Everything is just the way you want it without accounting for someone else's needs. But it's also like, wow I'm the only one that has to do all the cleaning around this joint? Rude.

Diane then takes us through the wildest analogy of God I've come across in a poem yet. And the reason it's wild is that it makes God so human, so every day emotion-wobbly regular. Lines like "his Hush Puppy house slippers with the backs broke down,", and "no Mrs. God to make him reasonable as he gets out the straight razor to slice the hair off his face," drive that ideal home for me. I'm not a religious person, FYI, but you know, I've heard of God. I've been to church in the past. This was not the image I had of the guy. And I loved it!

The ending of this poem was so twisty and fun, I hadn't seen it coming. Make sure you check it out, this one has a little check mark in the faves box for me!

Moon Ghazal by Dorianne Laux

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I read this poem in the Undercurrent workshop led by Desireé Dallagicomo and loved it. I've read another of Dorianne's poems before and now I'm eager to get more into their work soon. Moon is the word that we see repeated at the end of every couplet of this ghazal. One would think a poem about the moon would be cliché, but Dorianne uses interesting language in this! Lines like, "Blue as new milk" and "When I see the earth of you I still feel moonquakes" are so surprising. I felt like I was on a mini-exploration. One of my favorite lines happens to be a kenning (a term I learned recently, now I get excited when I notice them in poems). To call the moon a "see-through-y wafer" made me giddy, I can't explain it. Other kennings used included, "thin-skinned”, “heart-stuck”, and “cold-bitten”.

When we get towards the middle of the poem I start to feel a Sharon Olds vibes. The following line in particular reminded me of one of my favorite Olds poems, The Connoisseuse of Slugs: "How I felt when I saw my first grown boy, round-eyed, all sinew and muscle, his calves, his biceps, plump as moons." It's the awe of experiencing your first sensual exploration of another person's body. I was fascinated by my first encounter, so now when I come across them in poems, I'm instantly hooked. The moon is everywhere in this poem, which is fitting. In a sense, we get to grow with Dorianne and the moon as she matures and moves into motherhood. This was a fun read for me!

What I Read This Week

Hi, welcome to my blog.

If You're Staying, I'm Staying Too by Meg Day

Song in My Heart by Diane Seuss

Moon Ghazal by Dorianne Laux

More Poems I Read This Week

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What I Read This Week

Hi, welcome to my blog.

If You're Staying, I'm Staying Too by Meg Day

Song in My Heart by Diane Seuss

Moon Ghazal by Dorianne Laux

More Poems I Read This Week