Temple of Stars
Dana Curtis
Flowers and birds collaborate
to create new constellations
for this newly molded world,
radiant and empty. Welcome,
I whisper in my most
sinuous voice. I imagine you
will finally hear me
at the crossroads with all
its pretty crosses made of
frost and permanence. You are not
mine in the rain, lost again
amid all that we began.
There is a slight sense of
longing, regret, and distance:
we will no longer look
for boxes full of night
and promise.
to create new constellations
for this newly molded world,
radiant and empty. Welcome,
I whisper in my most
sinuous voice. I imagine you
will finally hear me
at the crossroads with all
its pretty crosses made of
frost and permanence. You are not
mine in the rain, lost again
amid all that we began.
There is a slight sense of
longing, regret, and distance:
we will no longer look
for boxes full of night
and promise.
About the Author
Dana Curtis’ third full-length collection of poetry, Wave Particle Duality, was published by Blazevox Books you 2017. Her second collection, Camera Stellata, was published by CW Books, and her first book, The Body's Response to Famine, won the Pavement Saw Press Transcontinental Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in such publications as Ploughshares, Hotel Amerika, Indiana Review, Colorado Review, and Poetry Northwest. She has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the McKnight Foundation.
About the Work
"I’ve written several Temple poems. In many ways, all my poems are Temple poems. I think most people agree that all poetry is spiritual, either overt or covert. Whether you believe in the soul or not, it sits at the heart of every poem, every creative endeavor. I spend way too much time looking at the sky, so Temple of Stars was necessary and inevitable."
About the Author's Process
"As for my process in general, my basic physical process can begin in a few ways. Sometimes, a line occurs to me and I follow it wherever it takes me. However, there are some poems, usually long ones, that required a lot of planning, forethought, and sometimes, research. My next book, Directed by Lilly Obscure, is transgenre with its mean focus on movies. I watched a lot, I read a lot, and discovered both the insistence and illusion of genre. Everyone’s process is their own; there is no right or wrong. Usually, the work makes the decisions, and I am dragged along whether I want to go or not. I accept it; I can’t live without it."
Dana Curtis’ third full-length collection of poetry, Wave Particle Duality, was published by Blazevox Books you 2017. Her second collection, Camera Stellata, was published by CW Books, and her first book, The Body's Response to Famine, won the Pavement Saw Press Transcontinental Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in such publications as Ploughshares, Hotel Amerika, Indiana Review, Colorado Review, and Poetry Northwest. She has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the McKnight Foundation.
About the Work
"I’ve written several Temple poems. In many ways, all my poems are Temple poems. I think most people agree that all poetry is spiritual, either overt or covert. Whether you believe in the soul or not, it sits at the heart of every poem, every creative endeavor. I spend way too much time looking at the sky, so Temple of Stars was necessary and inevitable."
About the Author's Process
"As for my process in general, my basic physical process can begin in a few ways. Sometimes, a line occurs to me and I follow it wherever it takes me. However, there are some poems, usually long ones, that required a lot of planning, forethought, and sometimes, research. My next book, Directed by Lilly Obscure, is transgenre with its mean focus on movies. I watched a lot, I read a lot, and discovered both the insistence and illusion of genre. Everyone’s process is their own; there is no right or wrong. Usually, the work makes the decisions, and I am dragged along whether I want to go or not. I accept it; I can’t live without it."
