Our Michelle is angelic
in more than name

it’s not surprising
she lives close
to the City of Angels.

In moments when I'm discouraged
or put upon by loss
without knowing, she sprinkles sunshine
all over a blank screen.

If she were a faerie spirit
her pen would be her wand
and she’d grace a dappled forest path
with gentle, artful dance.

But for now
she walks through arbours
in California,
visiting statues of Athena
taking in fresh breaths of
mythology to make it
vibrant in her life and work.

Michelle's so TALented -
a SO CAL poet,
constant at learning and revising
her own craft
inspiring and now judging
younger poets here.

We met when her verse and mine landed
together in publication
thanks to a mutual editor-friend
and we discovered each other’s poems
soon the women
behind the lines bonded
and reciprocal inspiration was born.

We’ve seen photographs
of each other
attending similar readings
in our respective towns,
shared similar experiences of performance
and critique
but we rely on the computer screen
to find each other.

The magic of it all is
whether or not
we ever meet face-to-face,
stand at the same mic
sit together in a reading room,
or host one another at home,
we know we’re already eternal sisters
and colleagues at the poems.

07/14/2005