National Poetry Month : Lea Graham,

 

Spell, (n.) A set of words, a formula
or verse, supposed to possess . . . magical
powers; a charm or incantation; a period
or space of time of indefinite length.

(Upon Hearing that Salman Rushdie
and Donald Trump Sat Next to Each Other
at a Crosby, Stills and Nash Concert) 

 

Tonight they’re just Sal and Don
with their kids at The Garden.

No memory of being in hiding;
hiding anything. They sing along.

Who knew Sal could harmonize
with Nash or that Don knows

every word to “Woodstock”?
Side by side these two guys,

Children of god, here
to lose the smog….

A moment in stardust,
this brief golden thrall—

  

 

 

Lea Graham is the author of two poetry collections, From the Hotel Vernon (Salmon Press, 2019) and Hough & Helix & Where & Here & You, You, You (No Tell Books, 2011); a fine press book, Murmurations (Hot Tomato Press, 2020), and three chapbooks, Spell to Spell (above/ground Press, 2018), This End of the World: Notes to Robert Kroetsch (Apt. 9 Press, 2016) and Calendar Girls (above/ground Press, 2006).

She is the editor of the forthcoming anthology of critical essays: From the Word to the Place: The Work of Michael Anania (MadHat Press, 2021). She is an associate professor of English at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY and a native of Northwest Arkansas.