April 6-12, 2015: Holly Day and Angel La Canfora

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Bio (auto)

Holly Day was born in Hereford, Texas, “The Town Without a Toothache.” She and her family currently live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she teaches writing classes at the Loft Literary Center. Her published books include the nonfiction books Music Theory for Dummies, Music Composition for Dummies, Guitar All-in-One for Dummies, Piano All-in-One for Dummies, A Brief History of Nordeast Minneapolis; the poetry books Late-Night Reading for Hardworking Construction Men (The Moon Publishing) and The Smell of Snow (ELJ Publications); and a novel, The Book Of (Damnation Books). Her needlepoints and beadwork have recently appeared on the covers of The Grey Sparrow Journal, QWERTY Magazine, and Kiki Magazine.

From the Garden

I come in from the garden and I’m covered
in slugs. Tiny slabs of snot with antennae waving
slowly moving over my sandaled
feet, pausing in confusion at trying to pass
a particularly thick black ankle hair
navigating the rough etched surface
of a heavy Tibetan silver bracelet.
I don’t touch my hair because
I don’t want to know they’re there, wrapped in tangles
dreadlocks with chewy centers.

I pull my clothes off by the washing machine
and start the hot rinse cycle immediately, reconciling
my guilt at running the washing machine
with only two items of clothing in it
with images of hordes of horrible soft bodies
tumbling through the soapy water with my clothes
hopefully boiled alive.

Early

if I lie still enough
long enough
will my body melt the snow
will tulips and daffodils race up
expecting an early arrival of spring?

will our combined heat
convince the rest of the plants that it’s spring?
if we lie here together
will we wake crocuses, make snowdrops unfurl
open bright crowns to herald the sun

shake Christmas roses awake?
if you make love to me, here, in the snow
on the hard-packed snow, on the frozen mud and ice
will the roots of this tree feel us move
will it unfurl tiny nubs of budded leaves
thinking that it’s spring?

Angel La Canfora
lacanforaas@gmail.com

Bio (auto)

Originally from Huntington Beach, California, Angel La Canfora is a singer/songwriter, landscape photographer and poet. Her poetry has won awards from Writer’s Digest and Grey Sparrow Press and has been featured in such journals as Snow Jewel and Poetry Quarterly. She presently resides in Henderson, Nevada with her two fluffy rescue cats, Harold and Mod. She recently had a poem published in the new edition of Zodiac Review and one other to be published in the upcoming June issue of Star 82 Review.

The Shattered Stuff

This is the time of the shattered stuff-
Glass bottles breaking, coming to pass
with each step, with each breath.
I’m trying to feel for your hand
but mine’s bandaged too tight.
I’m like a pilot light airplane crashing
into an abandoned home tucked away
in a hillside forest.

This is the time of the shattered stuff-
The drain is clogged with the hairs of my
cares and worries and outside, the snow flurries
and I slosh through the slurry of mourning-
every noon, every night.

This is the time of the shattered stuff-
Champagne flutes and busted guitars litter
the floor after the celebration and gyrations have ended.
Through cracked wine eyeglasses, I feel the force
of seventy-two lashes across my face and hands.

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April 6-12, 2015: Holly Day and Angel La Canfora

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