Florence grew up in Brooklyn, NY. She received a BA in English and an MA as a reading teacher. She lived in New Jersey for 54 years and became interested in poetry when The Dodge Foundation offered free poetry workshops to New Jersey teachers. Her poetry has appeared in THE PATERSON LITERARY REVIEW, LIPS, REVELRY, and … Continue reading Florence Ames
I went out with Irwin Ames Who was Joe’s best friend Joe my secret love Puppy love they said For I was twelve And he a medical student. I loved him The day I saw him cry Sitting there on the curb His puppy dead Struck by a car. The summer I was sixteen I … Continue reading I WENT OUT WITH IRWIN AMES
I was not a rebel Just a mature sixteen-year old In love with the “boy” next door Whose friend came by in his ’52 Ford And picked me up That summer’s day Joe’s friend Irwin Best friends since kindergarten Me sixteen A junior in high school They twenty-five Joe a doctor Irwin in textiles Joe … Continue reading JAILBAIT
We met the summer of 1953 I a junior in high school He a college graduate We met that day I found a job in the city The day I wore my mother’s dress The day he saw me in front of His friend’s house Joe, my neighbor Who introduced us Implying I was in … Continue reading Our First Summer
I leave the condo early in the morning eager to get to the beach before others disturb the see-through water. I walk quickly on the asphalt path carrying a beach bag stuffed with my towel, snorkeling gear, torso board, and underwater camera. Palm trees flank me heavy with their bunches of orange fruit and alongside … Continue reading A Place of Stillness
Genius Reserve I will not move from this place but stay here where the soft breeze brings coolness not allowing the patches of sun to disturb me and where I hear the quiet of the wind, the interruption of the birds’ chatter a layered collage of their speech and that of the airplanes their engines … Continue reading The Students’ Sacred Space
I WOULD LIKE TO RETURN TO THE TRAILS OF HARRIMAN STATE PARK, NEW YORK BE THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF AUTUMN WHEN THE LEAVES ARE STILL ON THE TREES THOUGH THE GROUND CAN BE CARPETED AS IT WAS THAT OVERCAST, COLD DAY WHEN WE STARTED TO DESCEND I, IN THE REAR OF THE GROUP WALKING … Continue reading A Place of Yellow
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