UnfortunatelyLit By Kitty Jospé
—With a nod to Safiya Sinclair
The ink in the quill,
the fingertip caught
in the light shining
on its striated nail
(time-worn surface
no soothsayer
will read)
how the same fingertip
touches the bottom lip
bitten tight in the teeth—
soundless
urgency of concentration
(do not fail!!!). Is there a garden
of good days where no
body is judged and every-
one invited to fly with what-
ever kind of feathers can fill
with a singing ink that matters
to each soul, penning the way?
Kitty Jospé holds an MA in French Literature from New York University and an MFA in Poetry from Pacific University, OR. She has been an art docent since 1998. Known for her contagious enthusiasm, she embraces the joy of working with language, art, and helping others to become good readers of poems, people, and life. Since 2009, she has published six books and has had work in numerous journals and anthologies. Her latest book, Sum : 1 is available from FootHills Publishing.
Why we chose this piece: The imagery and intensity in this poem is great. We love the call-and-response feel from the use of parentheses; we can almost hear the way it would echo if performed aloud. Kitty had us at “(do not fail!!!)”, but we also love the hope and yearning in the last two stanzas.
