In 2001, poet Anselm Hollo wrote, "With humor, tenderness, and surprising candor, Roxie Powell ventures into rarely visited territory to an ever-questioning mind." In his newest collection, Roxie keeps questioning, this time considering the connection between love and pain--and how one can rarely exist without the other.
Letters Like Lettuce Gone Soggy with Pain
One realizes that each life
is a slippery vessel which glides
through pain until it reaches
some shore.
At which time tents are erected,
sometimes castles,
and for some moments, all is fine.
Old letters remind one
that life will have its way,
neither your castle nor your tent
are sufficient to protect you,
Only love has a chance.
This book pulls together a wide variety of Powell's poetry, the majority of which has never been published before. Most were written over the past twenty-five years, with the exception of a handful, which were written this year, such as "Kansas Soliloquy" and "Turkestan." For Powell, the journey of life is illuminated by love, and emotional pain is native to the process.
