Voice (Looking Back, Looking Ahead)

Yesterday's panel discussion on the definition(s) of voice in poetry was a wonderful experience. I was sitting between two poets whose distinctive voices were heard immediately. I talked too much about image, as I am wont to do. I became a little less certain of my own voice, which is not a bad thing—it feels like a beginning, the possibility of a new way.

Thank you, Norma Bernstock, for inviting me to be a part of this, for believing I deserved to be a part of this.

And then I had vivid dreams all night, as I always do when I attend a poetry event and listen intently to all those voices. A hummingbird turned into a kitten—and that's the least abnormal thing I can recall from the night's subconscious escapades.

I don't usually turn to my dreams (or anyone else's) for poetic inspiration, but...

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dream image
his face the only
silence the only
hummingbird the only
normal tone