Vox Populi
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Sharon Fagan McDermott | Fragments: An Ars Poetica
1.
No idea but in things, the doctor wrote
and so I build with squares of rugs, frames,
curtains, art. A yellow bowl of grapes.
Sunlight gilding a wren’s tail feathers.
2.
If I could make a sacred space, it would
sing with vowels: bassoon, rune, legume.
3.
The problem with loving words
is all that ambiguity
to embrace. For instance
within the word “ventriloquist,”
there’s “trout” and “rust” and “silver.”
4.
I spend my days circling:
cigarettes ground in the gutter
and crumpled masks caught in hedges.
Pigeons strutting through puddles.
But the red-brick alley near my home
is slick with snow and citrus dawn,
calling me alive to a new Tuesday.
5.
Red grapefruit on the frayed tablecloth.
The house is cold this morning.
Words in the steam of coffee,
in the sunlight glowing
within the blue glass bird.
Copyright 2021 Sharon Fagan McDermott
Sharon Fagan McDermott’s books include Life without Furniture (Jacar, 2018). She lives in Pittsburgh.
Stained glass sun catcher (Etsy)
Vox Populi 
I grew up in Pittsburgh a long time ago and with your words I can see it, taste, it, smell it, feel it. I also lost a brother whose name begins with B. A friend sent me the vox link to divert my attention away from worrying about knee surgery. Little did he know I would find your words that are so comforting to me.
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Thanks very much, Marlene. And I hope your knee surgery went well and you recover swiftly.
Sharon
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Both selections today make me feel as if I sat over warm coffee with a friend. “ oh, you feel that, too?” My bird is a stain glass loon, but oh the words.
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Yes, I feel that way too. Thanks, Barbara. Michael Simms https://www.michaelsimms.info
Author of Nightjar Author of American Ash Founder of Autumn House Press Editor of Vox Populi
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Thanks so much, Barbara! It’s one of my quirkier poems (in my humble opinion), but it sure does show how much I like to play with language and paint with images.) Enjoy that cup of coffee! 🙂
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