Laura Sweeney
Meditation On Silencing
Ladies and gentleman you are about
to be mesmerized right before your eyes
as we present this woman: Exhibit
Number One, Angry Woman turned docile.
Look and be astonished at this wonder.
Watch and learn as the circus master tames
and trains her. For your own viewing pleasure
put a coin in, watch her wriggle and squirm,
silent and mute. Place her in your cabinet
full of curiosities more than strange–
The Exotics, bearded or of ill repute.
Let us show you her repertoire and range.
Let us show you how she fidgets and frets.
Let us show you how we keep her quiet.
Bio
Laura Sweeney facilitates Writers for Life in central Iowa. She represented the Iowa Arts Council at the First International Teaching Artist's Conference in Oslo, Norway. Her poems and prose appear in fifty plus journals in the States, Canada, China, and Britain. Her recent awards include a residency at Sundress Publication's Firefly Farms, a scholarship to the Sewanee Writers Conference, and participation in the Kaz Creative Nonfiction Conference.