ABOUT VALERIE LAWSON...
Valerie Lawson lives in downeast Maine. She and Michael Brown edit the literary magazine Off the Coast, which had previously been published by George Van DerVenter for more than a decade. While living in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, Valerie co-hosted the Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her work has been published in literary journals, anthologies, and e-zines. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has won awards for Spoken Word and Best Narrative Poem at the Cambridge Poetry Awards.
Read Doug Holder's interview of Lawson on his blog.
A SAMPLE FROM VALERIE LAWSON...
Evening
Boats tethered in their slips,
day captains maneuver trailers—
they've waited years for the chance of a mooring.
day captains maneuver trailers—
they've waited years for the chance of a mooring.
Sandpipers and plovers fuss over minnows
and sand fleas, chase receding waves,
skitter from the next wave rolling in.
Sea lavender pokes briny blossoms
above tidal pools. The used tissue of sea lettuce
litters the sand, catches in saltmarsh grass.
Terns dive, miss fish, hover
over another target.
and sand fleas, chase receding waves,
skitter from the next wave rolling in.
Sea lavender pokes briny blossoms
above tidal pools. The used tissue of sea lettuce
litters the sand, catches in saltmarsh grass.
Terns dive, miss fish, hover
over another target.
A horseshoe crab, empty of life but
shell complete down to spiky telson
marks high tide. The long flight bone
of a gull weathers smooth nearby.
Neither bird call nor blue blood matter.
It always comes to this, tossed on the edge,
still waiting for something
shell complete down to spiky telson
marks high tide. The long flight bone
of a gull weathers smooth nearby.
Neither bird call nor blue blood matter.
It always comes to this, tossed on the edge,
still waiting for something
as the sun edges below the horizon again.
From Dog Watch. Copyright Valerie Lawson.
© Ragged Sky Press