Ode to Our Cats

George lands on my head as I lie here in bed.

His claws need trimming for certain.

I toss a pillow as he nips at my elbow.

Soon he’ll be climbing the curtain.

I’d risen before at quarter to four

Commotion assailing my brain.

He’d got in a race, he’d chased sister Gracie

My sweet dreams aswirl down the drain.

Now I might as well rise with sleep in my eyes.

Is that shiny object the sun?

The cats plan to nap when I give them my lap.

Contented, their work here is done.

You should be sixteen

I notice a lot of roadside crosses marking traffic deaths in the Southwest, much more so than in New England where I came from. My trip from Taos today inspired this poem about an imaginary young woman. (A Quinceañera is a party for girls who turn fifteen.)

You should be sixteen now.

You grew up so fast,

You left us so soon

It feels like yesterday

Your Quinceañera had

Brought prideful tears

To mother and father.

Your gown with pink ruffles

And pendant of pearls

Tresses cascading

Framing your dark eyes

Not seeing your future

Blind to the white cross

And corsage of lilies

Remembering you sadly

Mere yards off the road.

The Internet Review of Books

This is an unhappy day, because my good friend Gary Presley and I have decided to stop publishing the Internet Review of Books effective October 1. Our staff once numbered six, but with the recent resignation of our fiction editor, we are now just two people: Gary for the blogging and me for the editing. We could continue--we're not overwhelmed--but as with others who left before us, we believe it's time to move on.

Our enterprise began in the mind of Carter Jefferson, who noted the shrinking outlets for book reviews in the press. With his leadership we launched our website in October 2007; four years and roughly 1,000 reviews later, I believe we have accomplished a lot. Granted, we never made any money, but we have earned a solid reputation as an outlet for honest, professional reviewers. We made a point to be open to self-published and small-press publications that looked worthy.

So don't stop reading the Internet Review of Books. We'll continue publishing high-quality reviews through the summer.