"Girl in the Bower" by Jenn Ashton
Self-Portrait as Alexa at Dawn by Alicia Hoffman
Slowly lifting is light’s thin seal
and I am here to enter the world
again, to search for that new thing,
the one that will continue to keep me
continuing, the heaving metallic sigh
as a truck greases its axles down the road,
the faint insistent tweet of a low battery
restless in its plastic nest of smoke alarm,
the soft murmur and curve of water
plashing in a sink and below these sounds
an unlanguaged urge to get outside and into
the wind that must be picking up today,
as the chimes on the deck are insistent and
the cloud is so loud and electric and full
of current that today is the day anything
can happen—today all possibilities breath
like steam fogging the barracks, like horses
at the gate before the race, so contained is this
energy, so ready am I to rush into whatever
is illogical and true, both moving and moved.
and I am here to enter the world
again, to search for that new thing,
the one that will continue to keep me
continuing, the heaving metallic sigh
as a truck greases its axles down the road,
the faint insistent tweet of a low battery
restless in its plastic nest of smoke alarm,
the soft murmur and curve of water
plashing in a sink and below these sounds
an unlanguaged urge to get outside and into
the wind that must be picking up today,
as the chimes on the deck are insistent and
the cloud is so loud and electric and full
of current that today is the day anything
can happen—today all possibilities breath
like steam fogging the barracks, like horses
at the gate before the race, so contained is this
energy, so ready am I to rush into whatever
is illogical and true, both moving and moved.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Alicia Hoffman now lives, writes and teaches in Rochester, New York. Author of two collections, her recent poems have appeared in a variety of journals, including The Penn Review, The Watershed Review, SOFTBLOW, Radar Poetry, A-Minor Magazine, and elsewhere. Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, she holds an MFA in Poetry from the Rainier Writing Workshop. Find out more at: www.aliciamariehoffman.com
North Vancouver, B.C. Artist, and Author Jenn Ashton has lived a creative life that has encompassed everything from farming to the Boardroom; from BC to Harvard and back again. Coming from an artistic family she has brought a creative flair to all her projects large and small. Jenn is known for her originality, resourcefulness, and vision. JennAshtonArt.com
