Welcome to where I am, where my kitchen's always messy, a pot's (or a poet) always about to boil over, a dog is always begging to be fed. Drafts of poems on the counter. Windows filled with leaves. Wind. Clouds moving over the mountains. If you like poetry, books, and music--especially dog howls when a siren unwinds down the hill-- you'll like it here.


MY NEW AUTHOR'S SITE, KATHRYNSTRIPLINGBYER.COM, THAT I MYSELF SET UP THROUGH WEEBLY.COM, IS NOW UP. I HAD FUN CREATING THIS SITE AND WOULD RECOMMEND WEEBLY.COM TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN SETTING UP A WEBSITE. I INVITE YOU TO VISIT MY NEW SITE TO KEEP UP WITH EVENTS RELATED TO MY NEW BOOK.


MY NC POET LAUREATE BLOG, MY LAUREATE'S LASSO, WILL REMAIN UP AS AN ARCHIVE OF NC POETS, GRADES K-INFINITY! I INVITE YOU TO VISIT WHEN YOU FEEL THE NEED TO READ SOME GOOD POEMS.

VISIT MY NEW BLOG, MOUNTAIN WOMAN, WHERE YOU WILL FIND UPDATES ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY KITCHEN, IN THE ENVIRONMENT, IN MY IMAGINATION, IN MY GARDEN, AND AMONG MY MOUNTAIN WOMEN FRIENDS.




Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Guest Poet: Anora McGaha


Anora McGaha is my featured poet this week, come to spend some time in my kitchen, along with--yes--a frog!  She is fascinated by the natural world, and as you can see from the poem that follows, she finds poetry in it.  She now lives outside Raleigh, a transplanted Yankee who plans to stay in the South.   I think she knows that North Carolina is the best home a writer could have.  Anora gives a brief portrait of herself:

I was born in Boston and my grandparents home in Cambridge Massachusetts was the most constant home I knew. My father was a diplomat, and my mother was half Italian and half American, and the daughter of a diplomat. We grew up moving every 9 - 24 months around the Mediterranean. Studying a little Arabic, a lot of French, some Italian. I majored in Chinese at university, and did my time in the corporate world in Boston, New York,DC and Raleigh, and now have my own business doing writing and multi-media content development for online marketing and publicity. I've been writing poems since high school. I draw from many traditions, and have been influenced by too many languages and places and experiences.

Kitchen Keeper's Emerald

Frog-frog
leaps onto
the back door
window pane
every other night

Brown eyes peering
into the dark
white skinned belly
pressed against the glass

Little finger toe pads
gripping
as if made to belong
on the back deck door

Frog-frog’s pale throat
pulses like a baby
feeding

Waiting
for the flyers
to draw near 
the kitchen light 
slipping out
into the night

Frog-frog
embodies green
spring green
brilliant green
precious green

Exotic as
the rain forest
poison frogs
or the latest jewel-tone
enameled smart car

Frog-frog 
came from Cary
twice before
a guest at the Cary 
back deck door

Kitchen keeper
didn’t know he
made the move
to Apex

'Til
one winter morning
hidden in a pot
under rotting
dark browned leaves
a green as fine
as emeralds

Two years later
Kitchen keeper
left  the shades open
after sunset
and there he was
Frog-frog
on his sitting spot
on the deck door glass

Frog-frog doesn’t like
the camera’s flash
and springs away
like Barishnikov
in ballet

Nightly
Kitchen keeper
peers into the glass
that keeps the bugs
at bay

Hoping to see
North Carolina’s
leaping emerald
Frog-frog

July 30, 2011

Anora's frog

6 comments:

Mariah said...

Ooooooh, the best kitchen keeper I can imagine. You and he have quite an enduring love. I'm glad Frog Frog let you finally take a picture as it was so much fun to see the green you speak of.

Can't wait to see what marvel of nature will be your next topic, Anora!

Peace, Mariah Wheeler

Anora McGaha said...

Thanks so much for reading and enjoying it Mariah! The frogs are mostly hiding now that it is cooler, but I've had a couple of visit from grey/gray foxes!

Alison Hill said...

I enjoyed the poem and the photo! Cute frog. Your poems about animals are unique.

Anora McGaha said...

Thanks Alison. I look forward to seeing your poetry in print online or off before too long.

Kristy said...

Wonderful imagery, Anora! My favorite lines are:

"Little finger toe pads
gripping
as if made to belong
on the back deck door

Frog-frog’s pale throat
pulses like a baby
feeding"

I am also a transplanted Yankee, and your words take me back to my own nights at the kitchen door listening to the sounds of summer.

Anora McGaha said...

Thank you so much Kristy. It's so helpful to hear what lines spoke to you. I loved your mentioning listening at your kitchen door for the sounds of summer. Beautifully said.