by Reed Turchi
for and after Ellen Bryant Voigt
Three days reading one life’s work
in the sunlit, south-facing room —
putting it on record, page by page,
the microphone pointed towards the poet,
towards the book, each line & stress
with effort pushed beyond the breathing tube,
beyond the heart’s diminished palpitations . . .
It’s the pentameter, she says, that strains
her now, but she is still among the living —
stringing each clause, each stanza,
each page together, resuscitating
colleagues, rivals, students, the long-gone
voices of all those who cannot speak
but only sing. Until everyone
is safe —
is what you said
From:
Dancing with Poets
Copyright ©:
2026, The Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University
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