In the State

BORN IN THE STATE OF GRACE

Pope Benedict XVI has reversed centuries of traditional Roman Catholic teaching on limbo, approving a Vatican report that says there were "serious" grounds to hope that children who die without being baptized can go to heaven.”

—The Associated Press, April 20, 2007

Where are you now, little thumb
in the mouth, fragile heart

the size of a grape? Tell me
you will go on whether the rain is enough.

Where are you now, frenzied
wing in the raw sky, my far-

haloed field? Tell me you are untethered,

that tonight as I wash and dry this

basket of apples, you are not drought, not
the frozen early shoots. Rust

tongue, tumbled leaf, empty carriage,
each version of you spools

in the red scarves, the names
I wrote down, then erased.

Pushy

Thank you to Words on Walls for nominating my poem, "The Magician's Girl" for this year's Pushcart Prize!

Best New

Pebble Lake Review has nominated the following poets for Best New Poets 2008:

Betsy Wheeler for "Non-Sonnet for Sleeping Birds" (PLR Spring 2007)
Matthew Olzmann for "Louisville Slugger" (PLR Fall/Winter 2006")

PLR's Spring 2007 issue is a bit delayed (bronchitis, cat) and is expected to be released at the end of the month/first part of May. Stay tuned.

Hershey

Hershey Linda Auchter Wood

(2001-2007)

Our beloved kitty was put to sleep this afternoon at 3:30 pm. She had been very sick for the past week and a half. She was quickly losing weight, not eating, vomiting, lethargic, etc. We took her to the vet twice and who at first believed she had a kidney infection & sent us home with antibiotics. Then, last night we noticed she was jaundiced (we noticed the yellow color in and around her ears, her lips, and her scalp). We took her in this morning, where they performed an ultrasound on her and discovered that she had aggressive lymphoma. The cancer had spread to all of her organs and her lungs where filled with fluid. Needless to say, the cancer was untreatable and we put her down. She was the best, coolest, most talkative cat and almost dog-like in her fetching abilities. We, and I'm sure everyone who knew her, will miss her dearly.

In honor of Hershey's passing:

ON THE DEATH OF A CAT by Franz Wright

In life, death
was nothing
to you: I am

willing to wager
my soul that it
simply never occurred

to your nightmareless
mind, while sleep
was everything

(see it raised
to an infinite
power and perfection)—no death

in you then, so now
how even less. Dear stealth
of innocence

licked polished
to an evil
luster, little

milk fang, whiskered
night
friend—

go.

(from God's Silence)