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Remember: a poem a day keeps the doldrums away!

Woman on the Phone
by
Terri Kirby Erickson

A tired little boy curls on the floor,
on the stair—wherever his mother

stands, talking on the phone. He
clutches a cotton blanket, sucks his

thumb as if his skin is honey. Some
day, he’ll meet a girl, fall in love.

When she leaves a room, the boy
will feel as if the wind has blown

through it, taking everything. For
now, however, he sees no one but

his mother—as if he is a sunflower,
and she, his only source of light.

From In the Palms of Angels (Press 53).
Used with the author’s permission.

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Terri Kirby Erickson is the award-winning author of three collections of poetry, including her latest, In the Palms of Angels (Press 53). She considers herself blessed and fortunate to have any success at all, doing work she loves. "Poetry has been such a healing force in my life," says Terri, who shares her love of writing and reading poetry by volunteering at the Derrick L. Davis Forsyth Regional Cancer Center in Winston-Salem and guest lecturing in creative writing classes at R. J. Reynolds High School. Terri has also taught poetry at Salem College and has conducted a number of poetry workshops for teenagers. Asked her career goals as a published author, she declares, "I want to make poetry more popular in this country than NASCAR!" A North Carolina native, Terri lives in a small town outside of Winston-Salem, with her husband of twenty years. Learn more about her at http://terrikirbyerickson.wordpress.com.

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