Baked Beans and Grünkohl Poems by Dorian
Poems by Dorian
Juli 2020
Unlatch
This sonnet by Dorian Brooks was first published in Ibbetson Street in 2019.
Unlatch
A woman from Honduras recalled how officials
took away her baby while she was breastfeeding.
—The Guardian, June 16, 2018
I wonder, when they came to take away
babies from nursing mothers, did they snatch
them off, or let the mothers finish, the way
midwives and manuals taught them – to “unlatch”
as naturally as breathing? Carefully
crook your pinky finger and slip it into
your baby’s mouth. Turn your finger slowly
to break the suction, ease it nearer you
a little bit, then rest. I like…
Oktober 2018
Poetry Editor
Dorian Brooks wrote the two poems “Thalassa” and “Poetry Editor” in memory of her friend and fellow poet Mary Rice, who died in 2011. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Mary Rice was an essayist and videographer as well as a poet; her poems, articles, and reviews were published in several magazines, including Ms. and Sojourner. A feminist and proud graduate of all-women Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA, USA, she also held a master's degree in art history from Boston University. She was an editor of the feminist magazine Second Wave, and later, poetry editor of Ibbetson Street…
Thalassa
Dorian Brooks wrote the two poems “Thalassa” and “Poetry Editor” in memory of her friend and fellow poet Mary Rice, who died in 2011. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Mary Rice was an essayist and videographer as well as a poet; her poems, articles, and reviews were published in several magazines, including Ms. and Sojourner. A feminist and proud graduate of all-women Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA, USA, she also held a master's degree in art history from Boston University. She was an editor of the feminist magazine Second Wave, and later, poetry editor of Ibbetson Street…
Juli 2018
Fairy Tales
Fairy Tales
Dorian Brooks wrote this poem about a class she took in Harvard Extension School, taught by a legendary professor at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Bob Spaethling was also one of my Doktorväter and a mentor to me for much of my career. Many readers may also have known him, and we hope that all will enjoy this evocation of his magic in the classroom!
Fairy Tales
for Robert Spaethling
In continuing Ed.,
we read Grimms’ fairy tales
in translation. Herr Spaethling,
Professor Emeritus,
all but dances his lectures.
With charming accent
he compares the…
November 2016
Milkweed
We are honored to publish this poem by Dorian Brooks. It has just been awarded first prize in the 2016 Arlington (Massachusetts) Poetry Contest by well-known poet Susan Donnelly. Dorian has published the poetry volumes A Pause in the Light and The Wren's Cry.
Milkweed
“Do you love your life?”
my friend asked. And if
we hadn’t been walking
through September fields
with cobalt skies
sifting gold around us,
and if I hadn’t just
pulled a milkweed pod
from its stalk,
split the ripe pouch
and run my finger over
the little silken fish-scales –
each brown seed
ready to fly –
…
