September 2024
Author's Note: The Gift of Glossophobia [Kelsay Books] is the title of my debut poetry collection. Glossophobia? A fear of speaking or public performance. You might wonder, why a "gift"? Without being stricken, I may not have written down many of my poems.
Striking Poems
Work is love made visible.
— Kahlil Gibran
She sees panhandlers with signs
That read "Will work for Food"
And wonders, do they mean
To say, “Will work for Love”?
Her predecessors forged on —
Slid strike plates to sew clothes,
Used stitch rippers to start over,
Struck sparks as blacksmiths,
Forced metal with hammers,
Clawed to pull out nailheads —
Sacrificed selves for love of other.
One granddaughter, ever hesitant
To speak up, silently writes down —
Scribbles in print, scripts on paper,
Clacks typewriter keys into letters,
Saves words linked to hard drives,
Struggles to chisel fine lines —
Struck by the heart and mettle
Of those who journey before and
Watch her work at striking poems.
from The Gift of Glossophobia
©2024 Mary Louise Kiernan
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