A poem of my bookshelf as landscape.
BOOKSHELF, 2025
after Thomas Lux’s “Refrigerator, 1957”
More like bookshop meets art gallery,
a worship of artists and handcrafted earrings.
The goddesses didn't bless me with acrylic
marrow, clay blood, pens that speak
in picture, but bless these women with their
carmine and verdigris hearts stained
onto my walls while I fever dream of Eden.
The typewriter's a fraud, but the candle really
smells like "classic pumpkin with a modern,
spicy twist!", the white stone really plucked
from the damp, grey sand of a Massachusetts
beach. And to the far left, still kept
in the vet's cardboard coffin, my cat's ashes
on a makeshift altar: a poem, a photograph,
two sets of fake peonies and chrysanthemums,
bought on sale at Michael's with the decorative
typewriter, because death did us part,
and something has got to live forever.
This is one of the last poems I wrote for National Poetry Writing Month in April. I wrote it in response to Amy Kay’s 29th prompt, in which she asked us to take a photo of “a small landscape of you” and write a poem from that photo.
There are so many fun, sacred, and/or aesthetic spots I could have chosen:
The other bookshelf in my “library,” beneath an ornate, thrifted mirror and topped with framed Caitlin McCarthy artwork (Persephone, Selene, and a mermaid), a vase of dried autumn leaves, a printed out manuscript-in-progress, and library books.
My autumn shelves above my reading nook, with framed poems of mine, a vintage butterfly painting, vases of fake florals, and other decor.
My nightstand—home to a lamp, alarm clock, mini sticky notes, a sea blue silicone *ahem* figurine (😉), and the books I’m currently reading (Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens in paperback and Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel on e-reader).
I chose the bookshelf in the above picture because I think it brings together a little bit of each of these sacred spaces; all my big loves in one spot: my cat, my partner, nature, jewelry/self-expression, reading, writing, and art.
Tell me about your landscape of you.
What’s a space in your home that best represents you right now? What would we find there?
Prompts that inspired this poem:
@amykaypoetry - "'Go to your desk, your nightstand, your dresser, your kitchen counter, your coffee table, or your garage (a small landscape of YOU). Choose only one. Take a photo of that scene with your phone to take to your writing space.' - Adele Elise Williams. Write about that landscape/still life. Bonus: share your photo. For inspiration read 'Refrigerator, 1957' By Thomas Lux."
@sad.magical.girl - "fever"
@shield.or.armour - "in search of Eden"
@circadeacademia - "I'm losing your verdigris faith over my carmine heart"
Thank you so much for reading! My newsletter and most Substack posts are currently available for free. You can support my work (should you feel moved to) by:
Upgrading to a paid subscription
Ordering my books and/or self-guided workshops
Liking and sharing my posts