Here is a poem by Connie Murray (soon Hughes) of Florence, Kentucky on the difficult issue of addiction in our community. It is forthcoming in Connie’s second chapbook, The Mirror.
Dear Heroin
Thank you
Thank you for taking
the pain away
Our beloved
have happily succumbed
to your relief
The train track is
very clearly
spelled out
across our arms
We have reached
our destination
Sincerely,
NARCAN
Dear Narcan
Your appearance
brings hope
Unfortunately,
it is only
a temporary
fix
to a definitive
argument
the grass
is SO
much greener
on the other side
Please step aside
Sincerely,
Bob Marley
Connie Hughes
Join us for the Cincinnati Poetry Month Daily Project Reading on Wednesday, April 26, 7 pm at People’s Liberty, 1805 Elm Street, Over the Rhine
Author: Pauletta Hansel
Pauletta Hansel is a poet, memoirist, teacher and editor. Pauletta is the 2022 Writer-in-Residence for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. She was Cincinnati's first Poet Laureate from April 2016-March 2018. Pauletta Hansel’s nine poetry collections include Heartbreak Tree, Friend, Coal Town Photograph and Palindrome, winner of the 2017 Weatherford Award for Appalachian Poetry. Her writing has been featured in Oxford American, Rattle, Still: The Journal, The New Verse News, The Writer’s Almanac, American Life in Poetry, Verse Daily and Poetry Daily, among others. Pauletta leads community poetry workshops and retreats in the Greater Cincinnati area and beyond, and has served as Writer-in Residence at Thomas More College in her native Kentucky. She is past managing editor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, the literary publication of Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative. Pauletta received her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte.
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