If I am not a Glimmer,
So I have to be a Shimmer.
And if I am not a Shimmer,
I must be a Himmer.
And if I am not a Himmer,
I must be a Jimmer.
And if I am not a Jimmer,
I must be a Chimmer.
And if I am not a Chimmer,
What am I?
II. Africa Maun, Botswana Afternoons, I teach schoolchildren to swim in the flooded waters of the Tamalakane. Two fingers support wiry bodies that sink every chance they get. “Arch your back! Spread out your limbs! Float! Kick! Paddle!” Until one student travels under her own speed. We collapse on the bank, gasping with sputtered water…
In the early 1960s I was captivated by John Wieners’ THE HOTEL WENTLEY POEMS (Auerhahn Press, San Francisco, 1958). I memorized those poems. Their appeal was so strong I felt compelled to search book stalls in New York City on Fourth Avenue, in the West Village, on the Upper West Side for other poems he…
The Kwansaba came into being as a praise song. Drumvoices Revue has used the Kwansaba form to praise Richar Wright (2008), Maya Angelou and Quincy Troupe (2007), Jayne Cortex (2006), Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez (2005), Katherine Dunham (2004), Miles Davis (2003). Outside of haiku and the blues, the Kwansaba is one of the most…
The Story Circle Network, in cooperation with the Alkek Library’s Southwestern Writers Collection at Texas State University, is planning a weekend writing conference to mark the publication of What Wildness is This: Women Write About the Southwest—Story Circle Network’s new anthology of writings by women celebrating their experiences in the landscapes of the Southwest. The…
Marcelline (Marcy) Burns is an author-friend I made through her response to “Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary” and continued penpal correspondence with both my father and myself. She is one of my role models I use when answering the question, “What kind of old woman do I want to be?” This was a question posed to…
From 2000-2001 I sent out my poems, stories, and personal essays to national literary journals. I used Writers Relief, Inc., an author’s submission service, to help me with the logistical details of submission. I learned a bundle (notice the verb is “learn,” not “earn”!) and enjoyed getting all the mail, including the rejection letters. After…
“If I am not a glimmer…” I predict this young writer has a glimmering future ahead.
Maggie -and Amelia -do seem to show great signs of purpetuating future generations with the family talents.
Hi Maggie,
It sounds like you are a fantastic simmer from the exceptional world of yiemmer…
With Chi,
Hal
Webster defines Yiem as matter. It is the primordial material substance from which all elements are supposed to have been derived. So that would make us all Yiemmers, right? Maggie at seven is simmering, growing into a fantastic version of one of us yiemmers.
Dear Maggie,
It is plain to see that if you are not a Chimmer, you are most wonderfully a “Rymmer” of the poetical sort. Congratulations on starting your writing career so early and so nicely!
Arletta