Some spit seeds carry spirits of the dead
the drowned who clutched at clouds
Smoke and sugar float notes up
over the bayou
Tinsel moss conceals
a wreckage of alligators
Through the banjo’s tunnel we drift—
The washboard scrubs the night
shines the years some forgiven
Jennifer Markell’s first poetry collection, Samsara, (Turning Point, 2014) was named a “Must Read Book of Poetry” by the Massachusetts Book Awards, 2015. Other honors include the Firman Houghton and Barbara Bradley awards from the New England Poetry Club and Finalist for the Rita Dove Prize in Poetry (International Literary Awards, 2016). Her work has appeared in publications including Consequence, RHINO, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and The Women’s Review of Books. For the past twenty years she has worked in community mental health and as a psychotherapist, with special interest in therapeutic uses of writing.
