Meet TRISH HOPKINSON of Word Weavers Chapter

Trish Hopkinson has always loved words—in fact, her mother tells everyone she was born with a pen in her hand. She has two chapbooks Emissions and Pieced Into Treetops and has been published in several anthologies and journals, including: Stirring, Chagrin River Review, and The Found Poetry Review. Trish is co-founder of a local poetry group, Rock Canyon Poets and attends the Word Weavers Chapter in Provo. She is a product director by profession and resides in Utah with her handsome husband and their two outstanding children. You can follow her poetry adventures at http://trishhopkinson.com/.

What

After Sharon Olds poem “When”

This is what is going to happen—

the lone woman will stop the

rattle, the death breath from the chimney hearth,

when she opens the damper, then turns the urn’s mouth out

with her wrists, cascading the grayed decay,

from there, the ashes flurry up and out, into the

orange remnants of autumn skyline,

she will watch from the window, as they dissipate

against the end of day, the seeping dark,

the moon's edge, sharp as dying,

its frowning tip tilted toward Saturn.

She will dust the hearth with feathers,

turn away from the sad moon, its slivered glow

and the dust that was once her lover—

she will love no longer.

Meet DEE RYGH-UTSPS Poet of the Year 2016

An Air Force couple introduced Duane Thomas Rygh to the world while stationed at Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts. He has no siblings and was raised in Marysville, California.  Later, while serving in the Air Force, "dee" earned his B.S. in Social Psychology at Park University, along with a minor in sarcasm and then went on to earn an M.S. in Psychology.  The literary classes he attended planted a love of poetry and classic literature.  After his 20-year career in the Air Force, he went into semi-retirement to focus on writing.  With his wife of 21 years, Janet, they now call Utah their home, along with their son Jalen.

His manuscript, My Bright Red Scream, won the 2016 UTSPS Book of the Year. The manuscript focuses on the physical and psychological aftermath of events from dee's four deployments to the Middle East.  Inspired by Beethoven's Ninth, he also explores Hope through the use of an alter ego named Tanner Love.  Despite the struggles put forth in the early portion of his manuscript, he manages to ground himself by the manuscript's end recounting personal experiences and also what he views as his next steps moving forward. This book is free to all UTSPS members and will be available in October 2016. Dee is a member of the Ben Lomond chapter of UTSPS.

Tanner Love and the Bard 

In the distant morning, 

a bird sings like a bard 

with joyful yearning. 

A duet, harmonious  

with the dawning Sun. 

A song just for Tanner, 

a reminder to 

be mindful of this moment, 

so I may embrace 

all the sun has touched 

with open arms. 

~dee