My poem “Missing Loved Ones” has been posted among today’s offerings of the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project (9 poets have agreed to write 30 poems apiece in 30 days, to raise funds for Tupelo Press, a non-profit literary publisher). I am grateful to Emily Bailey, who provided the title, and Tami Wright, who offered these three words: Ganymede, oblivion and ubiquitous.
Missing Loved Ones
You marvel that a simple garment retains so much of a person’s
being. I watch the worm swinging on its long thread
from one side of the door’s frame to the other,
wondering how to avoid it should I go out, but a sparrow…
Click here to see the rest of the poem.
Tomorrow’s poem, “Transduced Ruin,” was sponsored by Atomic Geography, who provided the title and three words: spiritual, sequences, things.
I still need title sponsors for the 22nd and 23rd, and don’t forget about the 3-word sponsorships. Remember, you can combine the two (as in today’s poem) to force me to use not only your title, but also three words that I’d likely not use on my own. And can anyone challenge last year’s co-winners of Worst Title in the History of the 30/30 Project, Ron, Plain Jane and Mek?*
The sponsored poems are a blast to write, and the titles lead me to poems I’d not otherwise conceive. If you’re inclined to sponsor a poem, Donate to Tupelo, and please let me know as soon as possible what your title is or which three words you’ve foisted upon me.
If you need something to read, Think Dink! A $30 donation will get you my 2015 chapbook If Your Matter Could Reform, Barton Smock’s Infant Cinema, Jamie Hunyor’s A New Sea, and Tim Kahl’s full length work, The String of Islands, thanks to the generosity of Dink Press founder and editor Kristopher Taylor! A limited quantity is available, so order earlier rather than later.
For information on sponsorships (and my other incentives), click here.
Thank you for supporting poetry! Only 16 poems to go!
* The titles are, respectively, “Calvin Coolidge: Live or Memorex,” “Your Armpits Smell Like Heaven,” and “Reduce Heat and Simmer Gently Without Cloud Cover, Till Sundown. Serves 2 – 7 Billion.” “Nose-Picking Reese’s Hider” is definitely a strong contender for this honor.
O at the Edges 
Excellent. What is 1900 years, to eternity? (That is how those short years seem, at times.)
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The older I get, the shorter the years are. Funny how that is.
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Very real, Robert, thank you. Last week I was visiting my Mom’s and stood for a moment in my Dad’s closet still filled with his shirts . . . .so many memories.
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I’ve encountered the same with my Mom’s clothing. Very difficult.
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Yes, comforting but longing. Thanks again for the poem.
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You’re welcome, Jan. I’ve become more familiar with loss as I’ve aged. Familiar, but not comfortable. May that never change.
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Absolutely stunning stringing of moments, feelings and forms.
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Thank you very much.
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This is my favourite so far.
I often talk down prompting, but it does bring in things you might not have thought of before, like an analogy of space and loss of a loved one. Read it twice.
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Thank you! I don’t use prompts during my normal course of writing, but find them useful when pressured for time. They do push me in different directions than I’d otherwise take.
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Well this one came together magically….
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Ah yes! I stole my grandfather’s old cardigan and wore it in high school though it hung off me. After he died, I kept his tobacco pouch in my dresser so I could smell like him–at least for a while. Borkum Riff whiskey flavor. It smelled wonderful!
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Odors have. sparked some of my most powerful memories.
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