WordWise Series: Women's Voices

Greater Woodbury Arts Council
presents
Wordwise Series: Women's Voices
A Poetry Event at
A Taste of Philly Pretzel Bakery
53 S. Broad Street, Woodbury, NJ
Friday, May 29, 7:45 PM, followed by an open mic

Featured Poets
Tracey Ferdinand
Erika "Sage" Kelley
Linda DiFeterici

Bleeding Fish

It’s dark. I’m scared.
The blood drips from the knife.
The sweat beads roll
down the bridge of my nose.
It’s dead. But still moves.
The flesh on my hands
is cool and now defunct.
I hated it the first, second, and third time.
What would possess you to think
this time would be any different?
Exposure and new experiences…
Next month I turn 12;
so, this must be my rite of passage.
“Quit stalling,” he croaks.
My choices:
slit its throat, cut through the artery, or slice its organs.
“How about lethal injection?” I murmur,
and reluctantly carve through layers of cold tissue.
The blood rains lightly into the water,
mixes with the gray matter under my fingernails,
and spatters on my faded plaid shirt,
with the missing gold button and tiny moth hole
above the left sleeve.
Bloodless and lifeless, the thought of eating
repulses me. But what repulses me even more
are the words, “Now lets get ready to gut it.”

Panoramic View

My lifeless body slouches
on the permanently dented couch
eyes fixed on the glassless windows
360 degree panoramic view
savoring the images
trapped beneath gravity
and sonic pollution
nestled atop cascading optical illusions
vision focused, crisp with clarity
a little girl spins around
all the while tugging
at her pink ruffled dress
stopping abruptly
dizzily collapsing
she begins to cry
a young boy pitches
to his father, maybe his uncle
hits the ball out of the park…home run
excitement met with admiration
a wino clutches his crinkled brown paper bag
sips and staggers…full of umami, concentrated
just what he needs
two twenty-something year-olds
swap saliva under a tree, fingers entwined
one hand under her shirt
the other in her back pocket
young love, all the makings of young lust
blue night emerges, involuntary intermittence
part two continues at daybreak.

Poetry in the Park

Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission presents "Poetry in the Park" in the Historic Hopkins House of Cooper River Park with Featured Poet Erika "Sage" Kelley, followed by an open mic poetry reading.

Monday, May 11, 2009
7-9 PM

Free Event
Directions: http://arts.camden.lib.nj.us/directions.htm

Happy Mother's Day

I never imagined that motherhood would be this intense, trying, poignant, fulfilling…lovely.