Poet of the Day: Terri Kirby Erickson

Terri Kirby Erickson's new book of poetry, In the Palms of Angels, has just appeared from Press 53. The following two poems are from this collection, and their quality of quiet attention and recollection can be found in all the poems between its covers.

Terri is the author of two other collections of poetry, Thread Count (2006), and Telling Tales of Dusk (2009, Press 53).

Terri's work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous literary journals, anthologies and other publications, including: A Prairie Journal, Basilica Review, Bay Leaves, Blue Fifth Review, Broad River Review, Christian Science Monitor, Cowboypoetry.com, Dead Mule, Eclectica, Foundling Review, Hektoen International: A Journal of Medical Humanities; Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Literary Mama, Long Story Short, Muse India, Nibble, North Carolina Literary Review, Oak Bend Review, Parent:Wise Austin, Paris Voice, Pinesong, and Pisgah Review, among others.

BOOGIE-WOOGIE

Nobody taught our father to play,

but he could crank out a boogie-woogie

beat on his sister's piano,

fingers bouncing on the keys like ten

happy children, feet tapping—

smiling

like he never did before he left for work

or came home, tired. He'd collapse

on the couch,

loosen his belt—become so still

in sleep, you'd think

he wasn't breathing. But Dad could fly

across a keyboard—his body so light,

we put our hands on his shoulders

to keep him on the ground.

sponge bath

Draped in towels,

my grandmother sits in a hard -backed

chair, a white bowl

of soapy water on the floor.

She lifts her frail arm, then rests it,

gratefully, in her daughter's palm.

Gliding a wet

washclogh, my mother's hand becomes a

cloud, and every bruise, a rain-drenched

flower.