Prose Poems

...and upcoming appearances.

This edition includes images of a Great Blue Heron I photographed at the swamp at Curtain Pole Road, a part of The Tennessee River Park, Chattanooga, Tennessee in July of 2024.

Prose Poems

The Tennessee Poetry Society’s most recent online meeting included a prose poetry workshop with Anne Fisher-Wirth, whose poetry I first encountered in the anthology Elemental South. The event was a tremendous opportunity to create some new poems. Fisher-Wirth ended her presentation with the prompt “In That Kitchen.” My response and two other recent prose poems follow.

In That Kitchen

I washed the dishes in a sink near the stove where an elderly immigrant prepared the food. Sometimes the owner worked the grill and fed me hamburgers he had overcooked. “Why throw them out?” he’d say.

One day, they were swamped. A waitress asked me if I could make the coffee. I looked dubiously at the machine with multiple glass pots and warmers, and she laughed when I said I had never used that kind of coffee maker before. She said, “Just push that black button.”

So I pushed the button and hot water poured from four spouts. She hadn’t mentioned the tray that slid under the spouts, the paper filter that went into the tray, or the pre-measured bag of coffee that went into the filter.

I contemplated the clean spot on the floor left behind by the mop and thought of how much easier the percolator on the stove back home must be. I never learned how to make restaurant coffee.

Two Above the Swamp at Curtain Pole Road

You circle and call above the shoreline with wings so light I could think the sun shines through. Each year I see you in pairs, here or at some other sanctuary, where you court by locking talons and fall toward the earth. Soon, eggs will need warmth and nestlings will need to be fed.

Red-shouldered Hawks, you are Death to mice and voles. Your bodies are fires to consume flesh, and you will feed young fires. They will fly off before they learn to hunt. They will pick off rabbits and mice injured by cars and scavenging roadkill. Sometimes they become roadkill.

Those who survive will turn circles above the swamps and marshes next spring. They will find a partner and a nest tree for another turn of the cycle. Death to mice and voles, you are life to my soul.

Warming Up

The trees have stood for years, and chemical messages travel from tree to tree. Each tells the others when bugs attack so they will make the repellents they concocted over years of chemical history.

Can they tell the others of fires? It would likely be too late. Some species survive with corky bark while others burn and make room for others.

Today the chain saws are warming up. The fire in their engines will spin a blade to chew away bark and heartwood. At the sawmill, they will become boards.

Poetry Festival

The Poetry Society of Tennessee will hold the 2025 poetry festival in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on April 25 and 26. Chattanooga poet Christian Collier will give a Friday Evening presentation followed by an open mic. The Saturday program will include multiple poetry workshops.

A Musical Interlude

I have been listening to Butch Ross’s music on Bandcamp and YouTube. Butch is a Chattanooga musician with an Appalachian influence. He rocks the dulcimer. You can listen to one of his songs here.

My Coming Events

Poetic Sounds and Rhythm
Presented by Ray Zimmerman
5:30 to 7:00 PM
Wednesday, March 26
Reve Coffee and Books
1948 Northpoint Blvd, Chattanooga, Tn 37415
$10 fee for participation

We will explore the sounds that provide a focus for a poem’s listeners and the rhythm that carries the meaning forward. Sonic properties of a poem range from the end rhyme of a Shakespearean Sonnet or a Dr. Suess couplet to the repeating vowels and consonants of free verse. Rhythm may be strongly emphasized and accompanied by drum beats or as soft as a down comforter. We will also delve into intentional repetition used in some poetic forms. Ray will present a few examples and give participants time to write. Sharing at the end of the session is optional.

Author Fest

I will participate in the Author Fest at the Dalton/Whitfield County Public Library at 10 AM-3 PM on Saturday, March 29. This event will include a book sale, a meet and greet, and presentations by artists and authors.

Trails and Trilliums: April 4-6

I participated as a presenter last year. This year I will participate in an Authors’ Panel at 11:00 AM and give a Poetry Reading at 5:00 PM, on April 5. The Friends of South Cumberland State Parks organize this yearly event at the Beersheba Springs Assembly in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee. 50 naturalists from across the state will present informative programs at the conference center and lead hikes at Savage Gulf State Park and in the surrounding area.