Anticipation--Sometimes when I can't sleep, I sit on my back porch. This poem, hopefully, conveys the feeling I get at those times, like I'm waiting for a baby to be born.
Confessional--This poem was written as a result of several conversations I had with friends and family during the spring of 2017, when abortion became a hot-button topic with the womens' march. I wanted to express the heaviness and damage that guilt can create in the aftermath of an abortion.
I Danced Last Night--I was honored to get to read my poetry at the ASU Writer's Conference in the spring of 2017. The recognition and acceptance I received was overwhelming, especially coming from fellow writers whom I respect and admire. This poem was written in the days afterwards, when all my fears and lack of confidence in my ability to write crept back in the door.
Percolator--During a creative study of confessional poets Sylvia Plath and Ann Sexton, this poem was written as an assignment to "write about writing". Percolator is an accurate depiction of my process of writing poetry.
Though she is a relatively new poet, Bonnie Kennedy won the 2016 TACWT writing competition for best undergraduate poetry and presented her poem at their 2016 Conference in San Antonio. She also presented her work at the Sigma Tau Delta International Convention in Kentucky, as well as the Angelo State University Writer’s Conference, both in March of 2017. Most recently, she read her poetry at the Langdon Review Week-end Conference in Granbury, TX. Additionally, in 2017, her work was published in Voices De La Luna and Writing Texas.
In the wee hours
Behind my house,
The breath of a
baby asleep Drifts over
chinaberry blossoms And carries their
scent, whispering Past my face and
through my hair.
The day is
gestating In the womb of
night, In the still
darkness, she labors, While the
neighborhood slumbers. Soon, this blanket
of silence Will be thrown
aside.
The morning will
crown And the world will
awaken. But for now, I wait
with the night, Holding her hand,
Measuring time,
Listening to her
breathe.
