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Poetry’s Music by Shelby Stephenson
Kyra Freeman’s Second Life:Poems of Re-emerging reads as if eye-lids open every morn, as bones begin to creak – rise.The sun remembers.Provinces adorn neighborhoods.Children hold hands.Dogs bounce tennis balls.Furniture awakens to doggy’s wagging tail – “Outside!Outside!”
Magic rules, as a “second life” dances with a partner, baggage and all, back to the first of things when Time somehow started and words began to work the way they do.A meadow, by another name could be metaphor for a kitten to play with a moth that misses a flame in a daydream as one wonders if a house pet wants to be let out – to be, to see, to let something “personal”lead to syllables spoken with necessity.Self-portraits grow from one and two until the past grows thorns, shackles – until
“Kicking my ankles loose, I walked forward in a straight line towards the sun.”
April rebels, “raining when it wants to.”
The poet looks around in “vibrations of rebirth.”
-- Shelby Stephenson was poet laureate of North Carolina, 2015-2018.His recent books:More (Redhawk Publications) and Shelby’s Lady:The Hog Poems (Fernwood Press).
68 pages 7.5x9.25x0.25
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Since 2017, Redhawk Publications at Catawba Valley Community College has been proud to bring distinctive voices and original books to life, with more than 200 titles published so far. We are one of only a handful of community colleges in the United States with a literary press. To learn more about Redhawk, our submission guidelines, local literary services, or writing workshops, feel free to contact Patty Thompson at pthompson994@cvcc.edu.
Books are available for purchase through our website and directly from our authors at book events. We encourage readers to support authors and small presses by buying directly whenever possible.