Claire Scott’s Comments

I appreciate the chance to talk a little about these poems. They were not written as a group, but they all deal with time, one of my favorite themes.

“Settling the Score” is about how memories are held in time, some forgotten, some seared into memory, such as trauma. In this poem the speaker has not been able to integrate the experience of that night by weaving the thread into the tapestry of her life. She is dealing with the trauma years later, hoping to resolve it and be free of painful memories.

“Newbies Won’t Work” is about the urgency of time and the feeling that if there is a god, he or she is not taking care of us, sending only second string gods to help. I think we experience that same urgency today. The feeling that time is running out.

“Finding the Past in the Detritus of the Present” is also about memory and an incident that has affected this 6-year-old for the rest of her life. It is almost a prayer to help this child heal and be able to paint again.

The final poem, “Drifting,” is also about time passing, but this time is one way and cannot be altered with intercessions. This poem is close to me since it is one of my fears that I will no longer able to be present for those I love.

I am always amazed when I write, how the poem takes over if you allow it to. None of these poems began the way they ended, after multiple drafts. I hope these poems shine through the page for the reader.

Return to Archive