{"id":35891,"date":"2017-08-20T11:17:46","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T17:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=35891"},"modified":"2018-09-10T08:35:45","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T14:35:45","slug":"read-local-first-trish-hopkinson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/read-local-first-trish-hopkinson\/","title":{"rendered":"READ LOCAL First: Trish Hopkinson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"READ LOCAL SUNDAY\u00a0<\/strong>is your glimpse into the working minds and hearts of Utah\u2019s literary writers. 15 Bytes regularly offers works-in-progress and\/or recently published work by some of the state\u2019s most celebrated and promising writers of fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction and memoir.<\/p>\n

Today we feature Provo-based Trish Hopkinson,\u00a0co-founder of the regional poetry group,\u00a0Rock Canyon Poets<\/a>, and editor-in-chief of the group\u2019s annual poetry anthology\u00a0Orogeny.\u00a0<\/em>Here she offers us three poems, previously published. Her latest chapbook,\u00a0Footnote<\/em>, was published this year by Lithic Press.<\/p>\n

Enjoy!<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Waiting Around<\/strong>
\nafter \u201cWalking Around\u201d by Pablo Neruda<\/em><\/h4>\n

It so happens, I am tired of being a woman.
\nAnd it happens while I wait for my children to grow
\ninto the burning licks of adulthood. The streaks
\nof summer sun have gone,<\/h4>\n

drained between gaps into gutters,
\nand the ink-smell of report cards and recipe boxes
\ncringes me into corners. Still I would be satisfied
\nif I could draw from language
\nthe banquet of poets.<\/h4>\n

If I could salvage the space in time
\nfor thought and collect it
\nlike a souvenir. I can no longer
\nbe timid and quiet, breathless<\/h4>\n

and withdrawn.
\nI can\u2019t salve the silence.
\nI can\u2019t be this vineyard
\nto be bottled, corked,
\ncellared, and shelved.<\/h4>\n

That\u2019s why the year-end gapes with pointed teeth,
\ngrowls at my crow\u2019s feet, and gravels into my throat.
\nIt claws its way through the edges of an age
\nI never planned to reach<\/h4>\n

and diffuses my life into dullness\u2014
\nworkout rooms and nail salons,
\nbleach-white sheets on clotheslines,
\nand treacherous photographs of younger me
\nat barbecues and birthday parties.<\/h4>\n

I wait. I hold still in my form-fitting camouflage.
\nI put on my strong suit and war paint lipstick
\nand I gamble on what\u2019s expected.
\nAnd what to become. And how
\nto behave: mother, wife, brave.<\/h4>\n

First published by\u00a0Wicked Banshee Press<\/em><\/h4>\n

*<\/h4>\n

Temple City listens to Orlando<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Neon wraps temple spires
\nglowing against the dusk
\nof vacancy. It\u2019s here we claim<\/h4>\n

place\u2014the desert calm of
\na temple city. Shrouded in<\/h4>\n

exile, pulled from golden trumpets,
\na rhapsody of the blessed and
\nthe blues riffs of apostates.<\/h4>\n

If only a choir could bellow
\ninto our organs, harmonize hymns<\/h4>\n

through our hearts, push compassion
\nbeneath skin. If we only had a sign,
\nan arrow of direction, a revelation<\/h4>\n

unveiling the briny depths,
\nthe salt of the lake, of the ocean.<\/h4>\n

What kind of room is this?
\nThe drawer in the side table
\nshouts in tongues, bleeds to be opened,<\/h4>\n

shudders at footsteps in the hall.
\nThe sleepy patron rolls to his side,<\/h4>\n

pulls back the covers and stands
\nto draw the drapes shut.
\nHow can anyone sleep<\/h4>\n

with the buzz, the flickering
\nsuffering pulse.<\/h4>\n

First published in\u00a0Quail Bell<\/em><\/h4>\n

*<\/h4>\n

Offspring<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Your bright eyes push up into blue
\nand your limbs, like stalks,<\/h4>\n

climb the air with slight steps,
\nas if the atmosphere never pressed<\/h4>\n

its weight into you. Lifting,
\nas if light is thin and splits<\/h4>\n

to make way for you.
\nYou taste of sunbeam and pollen.<\/h4>\n

My tendrils pull me taut,
\ntether me heavy to the dirt<\/h4>\n

where I can\u2019t pull free
\nfrom root or worm.<\/h4>\n

Drudging, as if light is glue,
\nan emission confining me.<\/h4>\n

If only I could pluck a petal
\nfrom your fingertips and place it<\/h4>\n

between my ear and the earth,
\nI would hear the rush of the sky.<\/h4>\n

First published in\u00a0Stirring<\/em><\/h4>\n

#<\/p>\n

\"\"Trish Hopkinson has always loved words\u2014in fact, her mother tells everyone she was born with a pen in her hand. A Pushcart-nominated poet, she has been published in several anthologies and journals, including\u00a0Stirring<\/em>,\u00a0Pretty Owl Poetry<\/em>, and\u00a0Chagrin River Review<\/em>; and her third chapbook\u00a0Footnote<\/em>\u00a0was published by\u00a0Lithic Press<\/a>\u00a0in 2017. She is a product director by profession and resides in Utah with her handsome husband and their two outstanding children. You can follow Hopkinson on her blog where she shares information on how to write, publish, and participate in the greater poetry community\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

READ LOCAL SUNDAY\u00a0is your glimpse into the working minds and hearts of Utah\u2019s literary writers. 15 Bytes regularly offers works-in-progress and\/or recently published work by some of the state\u2019s most celebrated and promising writers of fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction and memoir. Today we feature Provo-based Trish Hopkinson,\u00a0co-founder of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1566,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,2513],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literary-arts","category-read-local-first"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-16 07:47:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1566"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35896,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35891\/revisions\/35896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}