By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

Gratitude by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist – I celebrated a BIG birthday in August. My favorite gift was a gratitude journal. Page after page is filled with words I’m grateful to know and use. Here’s a small list: joy cerulean cumulus luminous slide persevere light endureContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

The Last Word by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist – “Poetry is a spell against death.” ~ Richard Eberhart A poet’s job is to be brave and tell the truth. I’ve said this before in my column. When is bravery and truth-telling most difficult? For me, itContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

Write Across the Threshold by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist DA CAPO Jane Hirshfield Take the used-up heart like a pebble and throw it far out. Soon there is nothing left. Soon the last ripple exhausts itself in the weeds. Returning home, slice carrots, onions, celery. GlazeContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

Writing Home by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist Dear reader, this is a letter. I hear they’re “old hat.” I am a letter writer. I write my god-daughter, Mingli, my nieces in California and Colorado, son in Texas, sister in Richmond, and grandson in Swannanoa. Sometimes theyContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

They Paved Paradise! by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist – “There is only one question / How to love this world.” ~ Mary Oliver Mary tells us how with this three line poem, from “Sometimes:” Pay attention Be astonished Tell about it. The writers and poets whoseContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

Tra-La! I’m A Word Processor! by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist The first verse from Kenneth Goldsmith’s poem, I Look to Theory Only When I Realize That Somebody has Dedicated Their Entire Life to a Question I Have Only Fleetingly Considered (yes, that’s the title) begins: “IContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

Fingerprints by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist “Writers need to understand the distinction between wanting to be published and what they really want. Publication is a means to an end. And the end is being read.” ~ Jennifer Noel, from Poets and Writers magazine, March/April 2015 WhenContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

March Madness by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist This is Basketball Month! It is also National Peanut Month, National Nutrition Month, National Women’s History Month, and American Red Cross Month. The flower of the month is the daffodil; aquamarine is the gem. In Minnesota, March has theContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: The Poet’s Voice

Martyrs to Truth by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Rapid River Magazine Poetry Editor/Columnist Tell It Slant Truth tellers, raise your pens! It is our job to be brave. It is our job to recognize the miracle of being alive. It is our job to pay attention, be astonished, tell it! (allContinue Reading