George Simmer's call for submissions to the "Useful Poems" issue of
Snakeskin (although this one didn't really fit the vibe), plus a news item last week, prompted me to get serious about finishing a poem that has been haunting me off and on for decades:
https://newversenews.blogspot.com/20...dar-girls.html
It feels wonderful to be done.
My profound thanks to Sphereans Maryann Corbett and Rose Kelleher for their detailed private critiques of an earlier version, six years ago. They gave me very good advice, but I knew I still needed to figure out a lot of other aspects on my own before it was ready. I kept circling back to it and tinkering every few months, until the last missing piece finally fell into place this week.
Hooray for the power of interesting prompts, the power of friendship, and the power of the back burner!