Today’s Writer’s Digest two-for-Tuesday prompt called for writing a love or anti-love poem. Perhaps this snippet I’ve written in response could be interpreted as a bit of both?

That Time Looking at the Moon From the Balcony

I’ve led us here, under the stars,
so when you ask me
to tell you a secret, I can
hide my eyes in shadows and
take a sip of lemon gin.
Liquid courage helps some
say what needs to be said, but
tonight it’s a tonic
to keep the truth
from slipping through my lips.

My Alberta poet today is Edmonton writer Gail Sidone Sobat. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Gail on several occasions, but the first was when she was working as writer-in-residence at my local library. I had recently read her poetry collection How the Light is Spent, which I connected with very much, and hoped she might be able to give me some feedback on my own writing. She not only gave me great advice on how to polish my poems, but also reminded me that it’s ok to create — and succeed — as a writer in many different genres. I must also add that she’s helped to hone the skills and spark the imagination of so many writers, young and old(er) as founder of the amazing YouthWrite and JustWrite camps. Scroll down at this link to read Gail’s wonderful poem “Red Sweater.”