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With Apologies to Mary Oliver (1935-2019)

Posted on 01.20.21 by Alison Cantrell

My letter would have been
polite and inquisitive
about the herons
gliding
through her poetry.
I wanted to know
how many times
the same gangly bird
could invade
the same landscape.
I would have asked
if she knew about
Mozart’s too-many-notes –
a critique
within high praise.
Astute enough,
she’d get the point.
But she died.
I’d be remiss
not to admit
my feral cats
equal her birds –
along with fixations
on coffee, haiku,
and the Word
of the Day.


From associate professor of English to management trainer to retiree, Carolyn Martin has journeyed from New Jersey through California to Oregon to discover Douglas firs, months of rain, and dry summers. Her poems and book reviews have appeared in publications throughout North America, Australia, and the UK, and her fourth collection, A Penchant for Masquerades, was released by Unsolicited Press in 2019. She is currently the poetry editor of Kosmos Quarterly: journal for global transformation. Find out more about Carolyn at www.carolynmartinpoet.com.

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