Michael Metivier
@grousehollow
Editor at Merriam-Webster // Poems and essays in Orion, Antiphony, Prairie Schooner, Poetry, swamp pink, Blue Mountain Review, Bad Lilies, Kenyon Review, African American Review, Bennington Review, Columba, more // he/him // Vermont // MichaelMetivier.com
What do we want? GOOSENECK LOOSESTRIFE!! When do we want it? MID-JULY!!!
My pépère being a manly man playing and cooing with his grandson, me, on the floor of a lakeside cabin in NH, 1979.
As the article notes, Chester was the only Black war correspondent for a white newspaper. But in being a war correspondent for any paper he is joined by my ancestor William B. Gould, who under the pen name “Oley” sent correspondences from the war to the Weekly Anglo-African, a New York journal.
Yesterday, in addition to seeing a porcupine, I saw this enormous musclewood tree. The largest I’ve ever seen. Belonging to the birch family, it is also sometimes called American hornbeam, ironwood, and blue beech. But since other trees are called ironwood and hornbeam, I prefer ‘musclewood.’
Laugh it up, but these are so good my wife demanded I take them away from her. Not bad for $1.50. Tastes like BBQ flavoring + sage, tbh.
Also today I saw a porcupine, which automatically makes it the best day.
Good gravy Scarlet Joe Handsome decided to be extra cute this morning. 🪶
If the facial coloring is any indication, I do believe we have a Scarlet Joe Handsome Jr. 👀🪶
That’s right baby, 3% match, so I get credit for 3% of this win.
Our just-turned 13yo won a local prize for her poem on the theme of hopes for the future of this country. I’m glad she has no illusions that politicians are de facto virtuous or deserving of respect and admiration, but I pray for her sake and all of our sakes that this is the worst she ever sees.