The Language of Paisley

By Deborah Gerrish

In Deborah Gerrish's collected poems, The Language of Paisley, she begins with the moving story of her Armenian grandparents who came to America from Diyarbekir, Turkey just before the terrible Armenian genocide. Paisley, with its elaborate colorful patterns of intricate figures, becomes a vivid metaphor for her deep sense of the complexity of creativity, form, and poetic language. Throughout the collection, there are moments of grief and suffering as well as moments of joy and humor. In poem after poem, in her honoring of her family, her many moments of deep spirituality, her celebration of the natural world and her respect for poetry and the poet's struggle, her reverence for life shines through.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781479704149

Deborah Gerrish

Deborah Gerrish is the author of three books of poetry, Light in Light (2017), The Language of Paisley (2012), and the chapbook The Language of Rain (2008). Her poems appear in many anthologies and journals. She received an EDD in literacy education from Rutgers University where she was awarded the Edward Fry Fellowship and holds an MFA in poetry from Drew University. She teaches poetry workshops at Fairleigh Dickinson University and organizes readings for the Visiting Poets Program. She resides in New Jersey with her husband, Jim, and cat, Isaac.

Book preview

The Language

of

Paisley

Deborah Gerrish

Copyright © 2012 by Deborah Gerrish

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

A Note from the Author

Grandfather’s Funeral

Paisley

Medz Yeghern*

Poetry

Avon-by-the-Sea

Marzipan

Always

Portrait

The Dining Room

Winter Solstice, Oak Ledge, New Hampshire

Mother

The Waterloo Rock

The Poet

The Paisley Shawl

Field Notes

While Hiking the Shenandoah National Park

Goldfinches

God’s Land

Cicadas

Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Whale-Watching on Cape Cod

Blue Heron

Smitten

Waikiki

Pelicans

Blackbirds

Two Noble Creatures

Ancestors

Holocaust Hauntings

You Listen to the News

Sublime

Griefwork

Memorizing a Poem in the Book While Walking on the Treadmill

The White Robe

Pilgrim

Reverie

The Call of the World

Babbling Tongues

Eight Tales in Blue Jeans

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Tennis Ball

The Teacher Gives Ear to Fifteen Homework Excuses

Early Tennis Following Last Night’s Rainfall

The Left Remembers

Winter Moon, Summer Moon

The Smell of Spring

Florence, Italy

Message to Myself

The Poet in Me

When I Grow Up

School Days

Maybe I Am Too Acquainted with Poems

Child Fleeing

Eggs and Bacon

Whimsical Scarecrows in the Berkshires

Rude Cow on the Country Road

The Jackpot

Sarasota Moon

First Words

The Singing Candle

Godspeed

Harpooning the Tale at Arrowhead*

Faisant de la Bicyclette Sur La Plage

Elegy for Shakespeare

Dream in Verse

Putting on Grief

Blackout

Beyond

About the Author

For my husband Jim,

and for the memory of my beloved family

Acknowledgments

Warmest thanks to Maria Mazziotti Gillan for her unwavering encouragement and support. My heartfelt thanks to Sondra Gash for her poetic wisdom, sense of humor, and whose vision sustained me in the completion of this book. Much gratitude to Laura Boss and Colleen Fletcher for their insightful perspectives. Thanks especially to Michael Smith, Judy Chevelle, and Linda Lederman for guiding me on my writing journey. Many thanks to the Geraldine Dodge Foundation and its program for educators, Clearing the Spring, Tending the Fountain, in promoting the art of poetry, and to all my teachers, peers, students, and for the support of the community of poets.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following journals and organiza-

tions where poetry will appear, appeared, or earned recognition. Some of the poems previously appeared in the chapbook entitled, The Language of Rain, published in 2008.

Adanna, Putting on Grief

Ararat, The Dining Room, Avon-by-the-Sea, Portrait,

"Winter Solstice, Oak Ledge,