Loose Words Letter #80
The Return
Welcome to the newsletter from Loose Words. These letters used to go out weekly, but we slowed their pace over time. The last letter that went out was almost a year ago. You will hear more from us with our submissions at a new high. The momentum is back, and now the letters are, too. Loose Words is a poetry publication brought to you by Assemblage to capture disconnected thoughts and let them find their form.
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a progress; working together is success.”
— Edward Everett Hale
When we send out these newsletters, we post a few lines from each featured poem to preview the whole. Please read the full version by clicking in and taking that minute. A one-minute read could change your day.
Big News
For the first time in over a year, we have updated the guidelines for submissions to Loose Words. You can find them using the Submit tab on the homepage or read or review them here.
Featured Poets and Collections Are Coming Back
One of the things we used to have was a Featured Poet and Collection in every newsletter. This is back! Each newsletter will feature one of our contributing poets at Loose Words and a collection. Collections are groupings of poems with an overall theme. You will find these on the home page of Loose Words and here.
We need more of our poets from the glory days back.
We are waiting for you and your words.
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 Esther Fink.
Collection
Collections are groupings of poems with an overall theme. You can find Collections on the homepage underneath the Featured Poet Section.
Life features eight poems from 8 different poets from our archives. This section is a great way to get acquainted with multiple works around one theme and find poets you haven’t read before or ones you shouldn’t miss.
Life features loose words from Jonathan Greene, Connie Song, Georgiana Petec, Bradley J Nordell, Jay Sizemore, Jessica Lee McMillan, Ozge Durmus, and Megan Minutillo.
Selected Loose Words Since Our Last Letter
“So, I will take being sleepless tonight
because inside of me already feels
like it got a warm compress and a hug
and maybe, in the end, that is all
I ever wanted since I was a kid
who lost his mom at twenty and
still wishes she would go get
the dark red hot water bottle
from the closet in the hallway
and bring it into my room
and put it on my adolescent stomach
until I felt better”
“And can the jagged edges be something to hold onto
and glued back even when life
becomes difficult and cluttered?
What does it take to stay together
and untangle all of life’s little messes
when all you feel are the cuts of the tiny, jagged edges?”
“It’s seeped into my soul
spreading oil across the void,
sowing anguish and distrust
in its wake
Beautiful on the surface
in all its iridescence
But at its core — poison,
settling into the marrow of my bones”
Finally Found by Victoria Antonelli
“Bringing me back to a memory
Or maybe a dream
Salty air encapsulated in your sweat
I taste the past, future
Struggling to stay present”
The Fate of Lovers by Ozge Durmus
“A temple once so greatly admired
The farthest of the refuges now.
The fate of lovers has no goodbyes;
They drift apart only to find each other
Underneath the translucent darkness of the sky”
“I close my eyes and many worlds explode inside me.
Unnatural natural surroundings
Veiled in clouds of crimson smoke,
Rivers flowing at the speed of light,
This abandoned little girl
In the middle of it all.
Waiting for it to slow down.”
Highlighted Past Poems From Our Archive
I Leave Naked by Lisa Alletson
“I am dumb, a tomb of atoms
fingers stung by dishes and womb
There is no balm for empty touch
Our old sofa, the witness
to a thousand deaths
comes to life to cheer me on”
Open Wide and Let Me In by Wild Flower
“time is the lesson
nobody can teach
best slowed down
a bit to the left
and a touch to the right
petals, they form
like tendrils of life
only to wilt
in front of your eyes”
“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”
— Nelson Mandela
Welcome back.
