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24 pp., 6 x 9
Paper, $9.95
ISBN 13: 978-0-9792091-4-7
ISBN 10: 0-9792091-4-5
"Ode to My Heart"
A poem by Michelle Moore
O heart, lopsided valentine,
at times you seem more like a tooth
sunk root-deep in decay,
or a bird whose song is locked
outside its cage, and who can blame you,
confined as you are in that narrow dark
with a grasp of forever so complete,
any moment that calls for stillness after
motion rouses you. Ventriloquist’s dummy,
you hammer on when I go to sleep
or drink a glass of water. And your flair
for stalling or skipping rope or
falling out of love makes clear
your fear I might forget you.
But don’t imagine I’m unaware
of how that tick tick tick’s to remind me
you’re a suicide bomber searching
for a cause—often, I’ve wondered which
to cut, the red wire or the blue, but
truth be known, I couldn’t live without you.
--from The Deepest Blue, by Michelle Moore
Michelle Moore has spent many years studying with legendary poet Elton Glaser; more concerned with perfecting her poetic craft
and mastering prosody over the years than chasing frantically after acclaim, this literary "discovery" is deserving
of widespread critical attention. Moore's poetry is the sort of first book that makes the seeking of excellent, undiscovered
work worthwile. Anyone who reads these poems will know right away that this is a poet whose star is bound to rise.
The poems in THE DEEPEST BLUE reclaim the confessional and assert that it is not the mode or subject that determine a poem's
permanence but the quality of the language, the authority of its tone, and the urgency of its obsessions and passions. These
dark, brooding poems will appeal to those who have been to the bottom of "the deepest blue."
About Michelle Moore
Michelle Moore's chapbook of poems,
The Deepest Blue, was be published on February 15, 2007. Award winning poet Michelle Moore received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Vermont College in 2000. She has published
poems, articles, and Longing for Lightness, a chapbook of Italian translations (Poetry Miscellany Press, 2002). Currently,
she teaches writing at The University of Akron.
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