June 30

Retirement by Jason Fraley

Julie: Another of those poems where I would have guessed a woman wrote it but a man (or at least someone with a "male" name) did. That always makes me question my own biases, but that's the subject for another day. I found this poem competent and pleasant, and I had the feeling that this person has written much better poems than this.

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There will be a changing of the cabinet by Deborah Wardlaw Pattillo

Julie: I seem to have to be in a certain mood to appreciate Pattillo's poetry. Earlier in the week, I think I would have liked this more, or perhaps I simply like her only in very small doses, which is true for many things, especially feta cheese, which I adore.

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Take Comfort Where You Can by Michael Chitwood

Julie: I like the idea of not speaking goose, though I disagree with the notion that a goose doesn't have body language. I have been chased by geese, and I knew precisely what murder lurked in their black black hearts.