Lucille Lang Day’s Comments
I’ve been asking myself why I put these particular five poems together in a single submission. Superficially, they appear mostly unrelated, except for the two Facebook poems, “On Facebook” and “Abandoning Lilac.” Rereading them, though, I realized that they all have to do with fear and anxiety. “Thinking of Barbara Rogers’ Paintings During the Storm” is about being caught in a terrifying storm; “Climbing the Leaning Tower” is about fear of heights. Both poems seek redemption through facing fear and coming to some new awareness in the process. “Elegant Toe,” in which death appears as a seductive woman, must have sprung from the fear that comes with not knowing what my death will look like, and from the anxiety evoked by knowing death is an impassable barrier that could block me from everything I still want to do. Getting back to the two Facebook poems, “On Facebook” tells about an encounter with a would-be friend who seemed more like a stalker—certainly a scary situation! “Abandoning Lilac” is a satirical poem that expresses guilt about abandoning a virtual pet, but if fear of abandonment weren’t a real issue that causes anxiety for many of us, this poem would have no emotional core.
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