There is a universe parallel to ours where I’m a better father and another where I’m worse.

I’ve got a poem up at Bywords. It’s about being a role model, for better or worse, and I hope I learn something from it.

Literally just a chapbook

I am genuinely excited and delighted to be involved in this new series run by Nicole Brewer, Literally just a chapbook. The book is, as it says, just a chapbook, but it is also part-magazine, part-anthology, and part-community. Content is built around a theme, in this case strong feelings. Most of the poems here express grief but Nicole made space for my poem, The Wheels, about being overwhelmed by being a parent and about children’s (people’s?) intuition for compassion. What first excited me about this project was her willingness to accept previously published poetry, which blows away one of my biggest pet peeves in the poetry ‘industry’ – that poems get one life in print, unless they luck their way into a trade book. What really got me excited was that once us lucky bunch were accepted we were all conuslted on the form and distribution of the text. I really hope other folks out there find Literally just a chapbook as an inspiration to start their own projects that bring comfort and build community.

*PS: Nicole Brewer is also working on another project, a new outlet called Frond, that wil be publishing prose from LGBTQI2SA writers. Their first deadline is November 30 so if that applies to you, you got some time to write something new.

NPM #7 (The Wheels)

Many bad things are happening.
I cannot find my son’s boots.
It is pouring. I begin sobbing.

My son puts a finger to his lips.
He goes, “Shh, shh, shh,”
like the parents to the baby on the bus.

Tomorrow is dessert

There are two ways
to give your baby a brownie.

The first is to wait for them clear their plate
without making a mess, and then
to hand them the brownie.

The second
is to hand them the brownie.

Both end
with you cleaning
a happy face.