Okay, let me try to say something coherent. I wrote Brotherful over a ten-year period, and it aged and evolved as I aged and evolved. Grief never leaves, but the view changes based on where you stand, even if you look at the same empty chair. Brotherful is the book of which I’m most proud. It is most fully me. It is my heart. I couldn’t even think of publishing it anywhere but SRP. An early poem is called “Sibling Rivalry.” So, to be listed next to these writers I love, and

Poems to come. The overall spirit of the trip was an overwhelming kindness that's engrained within the Nepalese culture. Nepal is the rare country that has never been colonized; it shows.

Look at these smiles, y’all. That’s Theresa Davis, Jai Dulani, Al VanSickle, Alex Gildzen, Mickie Kennedy, and Drien Thompson, who joined us for a launch reading for Assaracus 27, which you can watch here . Because Assaracus has always been all about community, I love the concept of hosting a gathering of voices from each issue. I hit record to share it afterward, but as for the gathering itself, I keep it without a live audience because I want the poets to feel at ease—chill

Before the snow I stack brush under the lean-to for the birds, for the squirrels, for any beast who shows up hungry. To this my husband says I love your heart , the way he says the stars are out or the coffee is strong . I spent a long time thinking of myself as the wrong animal, a feral thing locked outside the barn. Shame will keep you staked if you let it. He says I love your heart , and there is my shelter. He built it. We step inside. The storm does what it does.