Day 24: "The Northway" by Lisa Bellamy

Again, a bit of a cheat--but a good one. Lisa was, sometimes is, my instructor at The Writers Studio. Of all of my courses, there (I went all the way through from Level 1 to years of Advanced Poetry and specialty classes)--Lisa engaged me the the most. I never was really introduced to her poetry. Perhaps, I didn't know to look? The Northway is her magnificent collection. There are so many powerful poems to discuss.

The cheat of the matter is that I randomly pick up the collection and tell myself--oohh I should read another poem. So, again this book is not a fresh read, but it is an important one. The poem I just read, "Our Fathers," resonates with me this morning. So, that is my choice to comment on.

"Our Fathers" takes a familiar image--the father going off to work every morning and then subverts it. The father starts happy and slowly becomes dissatisfied with their life. They go from waking up their children "to see the Aurora Borealis" (19) and to drinking beer "bottles between their knees." Eventually they are absent either physically or emotionally.

This is a true take, but a sad one. Beautiful work.

https://www.amazon.com/Northway-Terrapin-Poetry-Lisa-Bellamy/dp/1947896059/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+northway&qid=1598271936&sr=8-1