On a Day Far From Death

By E.A. A Smyth

"You died in the fall,

amongst the other dying things.

Your husky ran into the street two weeks later. 

I'm not sure I know how to live without you yet

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emily Smyth
• Release date: Feb 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885040396

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On a Day Far from Death & Other Poems

On a Day Far from Death & Other Poems

By E. A. Smyth

New Degree Press

Copyright © 2021 E. A. SMYTH

All rights reserved.

On a Day Far from Death & Other Poems

ISBN

978-1-63730-678-9

Paperback

978-1-63730-767-0

Kindle Ebook

979-8-88504-039-6

Ebook

To my third-grade teacher, Ms. Wendy Hanlon, who made me promise I would dedicate my first book to her, and to Mr. Sandy Stare, whose late-night conversation sparked many poems found within these pages.

The poet is the priest of the invisible.

—Wallace Stevens

For as long as I can remember, tiny, often obscure moments in my life have always jumped out at me, demanding my attention. A crumb of food on someone’s upper lip, cutout paper letters in a window, or ladybugs in my bed; little moments like these cause me to stop whatever I am doing to jot down my observations.

I often ignored any urges to write about these inexplicably touching moments of life. Writing about a dead pig on the side of the road or a long-lost Reese’s wrapper in the bottom of my purse didn’t seem at all relevant to the outside world. But over time I began to see the value in such moments. I have come to believe that these fragmented pieces of daily life are reflections of something much bigger and much more meaningful than one might think.

The poems I write tend to peel back the layers of routine life to reveal a story, buried deep at first glance. Poetry has a wonderful way of pulling the reader in. Even if just for a moment, a dozen potent lines open up an entirely new way of looking at the world. It gives the reader a second chance to think about the things they see, feel, and hear every day and offers them an opportunity to discover meaning hidden beneath the surface. In part, this is why I choose to write poetry. It demands to be heard, repeated, written down, felt, and contemplated. The reader is never passive. Every poem is an invitation to do the difficult work of seeing something from another’s perspective. I hope that my poems challenge you to do the same thing and that you may reflect on your own life and its contents more richly and deeply.

Lifetime of Belongings

Stacks of dog-eared books on the