Loose Words Letter #69
Cold
Welcome to the weekly newsletter from Loose Words. These letters go out every Thursday and highlight many of our published poems from the past week. Loose Words is a poetry publication brought to you by Assemblage (now back publishing essays only by the way) to capture disconnected thoughts and let them find their form.
“If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.” — Lucy Larcom
Each week, we will post a few lines from each featured poem (all friend links so anyone can read them) to give you a preview of the whole. We encourage you to read the full version by clicking in and taking that minute. A one-minute read could change your day.
Featured Poet
Each week we feature one of our contributing poets at Loose Words on our homepage and in this letter. This week it is Ioana Andrei. Ioana writes to figure stuff out.
Collection
Collections are groupings of poems with an overall theme. You can find Collections on the homepage underneath the Featured Poems, Notes From the Editor, and Featured Poet sections.
Winter features 11 poems from 11 different poets from our archives. This section is a great way to get acquainted with multiple works around one theme, as well as to find poets you haven’t read before, or ones you shouldn’t miss.
Winter features loose words from Caroline Mellor, Harley King, Connie Song, Sydney J. Shipp, Sarah E Sturgis, Shalini C, Alexa Thorn, Christine Kelly, Jessica Lee McMillan, Victoria Antonelli, and Eashan Reddy Kotha.
Selected Loose Words From Last Week
Full Circles by Sydney J. Shipp
“May we both go back
to the entirety we were
when we stretched across the sky
towards each other,
just before the eclipse”
“A withering
human part
with nothing
inside of me
except air
and a depth
of loss”
“No more, no less
Than what I deserve:
My only manifesto
Written by candlelight,
On a winter’s day
When everything feels cold
And grey.”
I’ve Been There, Too by Megan Minutillo
“Maybe then we’d stop our hustle and our scrolling
long enough to see
that there’s a story behind every single human that you meet,
and that there’s far more than we have in common than we realize.”
The Sting of Poetry by Connie Song
“I didn’t mean to shoot words aimlessly into the bottomless air,
and let them fall capriciously on deafened ears
and erotic hearts.”
An Ode to Lloyd Dobler by Joe Barca
“I will not wait on customers
nor wait for customers
I will not sit in a cube
nor spitball on Zoom
I will not sell anything
that cannot be seen”
Duffy by Madeleine Anne Bognar
“I sat across the table from you,
so many times. I did not know until now,
That you were really there.
Gave me time and time again,
What were you going to do with me?
What will I do without you?”
