Featured Poet





Kathryn Rantala

( Washington )

1. The Dinner Party

sag-lipped candles
bats
drafts
the floor on fire

goodbye to the other
goodbye to the other

sill of the evening



 

2. Ladies of the Beach

parts of island
varietally
close to water

some wet
some waited for

nothing changes this
nothing changes

3. Proximal Counting

the pine
the spiny arch dissolves,
tents,
points to time had
in the gauzy gardens

were this the only

4. The Land of Chinoiserie

alive the succulent crustacean

red box
fisted bee

the hinge of paper/
nothing
to the steep light

5. (untitled)

yoke and beauty
my terrible meringue

le cine
chrysanthemum

oh, my exigency

my heavy beauties
terrible meringue

__________________________________


Rantala’s Comments...

Sometimes I have to cut quite a bit from a poem to find what I'm trying to say; and then back up to be sure I haven't cut too much. Writing in all spaces of the paper is good for this; using a computer is not. I don't stop until I've completed a poem, though days or weeks later, when I pick it up again, I find it wasn't complete at all, only the moment was. I use a lot of paper.

---

Next - Dorianne Laux

Contents


Contributors
Current Issue - Winter 2006
Home

---

---