Here at T. S. Poetry, nothing could make us happier than when a person discovers poems. Reading them, or writing them. Or both.

I’ve known Lyla for several years, online. Then, this Fall, we actually met at a Writer’s Retreat (where we laughed quite a lot, and I learned more about her life as an insurance adjustor). Through it all, Lyla has kindly put up with my teasing about poetry. Until now.

Now, inexplicably, Lyla has embraced the teasing as the serious thing it is: an invitation to go deeper, to travel a new kind of word-road.

Thinking back, I can’t remember exactly where it began. Maybe I said something about Lyla’s prose sounding poetic. Maybe it was a crazy night on Facebook when I began to see her lines as lines of poetry. (Lyla can tell us, and perhaps she will, if she can recall.)

In any case, she’s accepted the invitation. It’s just a playground, she says. And, honestly, we hope it remains a playground. Because playing with words can be so fun and healing—especially playing with poetic words, because they get right to the heart of things with succinct images, sounds, and rhythms.

Welcome, Lyla. We are so pleased to be sharing the journey (or the playground) with you now.

the beginning

is like the fine ground
edge of a kitchen cleaver
honed sharp by a housewife’s
desperation…

continue reading ‘the beginning’ poem

Photo by Lyla. Used with permission. Post by L.L. Barkat, author of Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing

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Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $2.99— Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In February we’re exploring the theme Red.