It’s June and the rhododendrons are in full bloom. From my window, shades of scarlet, blush, magenta, neon pink. These colors remind me of the various lipsticks my Ballard grandmother would wear and I explored this in a poem I’ve been working on all morning. There’s no shame in too much coffee and pajamas at noon, especially when the rain pours and the drive to write is hot. But I’m also leaving soon to roadtrip through Yukon, British Columbia, and Washington. So a blog entry before my departure.
A huge nod to the editors of Nightingale & Sparrow Literary Magazine for including my poem “At the Edge of Hope” in their Sakura issue. My poem is in fine company.
Also grateful to have “Hometown” included in Issue 6: Midnight of the Australian journal, Authora Australis, another well-curated gathering of work that can be found across many issues here.
Also sitting in my email account are notices of an upcoming publication acceptance from Tokyo Poetry Journal and quite possibly a moon poem in the Waco Word Fest Anthology. The moon poem has at least made second round.
With that, I’ll catch you on the flip side of July. Looking ahead with great anticipation to mountains, markets, familiar faces and new, and reading a bunch of Canadian and PNW poetry as I go. Did I mention chasing coffee houses?
Enjoy the the fruits of summer, friends.
Kersten Christianson, Poet 