#PoetrySPEAKS Through Briana LaFrazier

You MUST read poetry from this awesome poet who values my expertise as a writer, performer, and editor. Briana LaFrazier is another Living Voice right here in North Carolina. Oh, and in case you forgot what Living Voices are:

The voices of generations present and future.

Worthy of academic study as well as enthusiastic snaps on a lonely stage built out of poems.

Living Voices are current and insightful and beyond relevant to our time. The subject matter, the observations, the mastery of the English language makes the poets before us smile from the other side of the page. We do not have to wait until Briana is 78 or long gone before we appreciate her power. She's powerful now. Take a look at this preview from her upcoming poetry collection The Breaking of a Shell of which I am honored to be co-editor:

Death Shall Bring

You bring me flowers

expecting praise for this death

I prefer gardens.

your love is too loud

listen how nature nurtures

her call is louder

a raining forest.

Then you speak to me of love

Promises like weeds

Let’s talk about roots

or seeds for I am a tree.

Not a sycamore

I’m Methuselah.

Leafless. Beauty is ancient.

This place is sacred

I know many storms.

my smile a white mountain peak

keeping me hidden.

Don’t bring me more death

expecting praise, growth and love

just keep your flowers.

© Briana LaFrazier

To better grasp the genius of this poem, Google "Methuselah". That's what I had to do. And in case you haven't noticed, each stanza is written in the Japanese Haiku form. The plurality of this piece, the multiple meanings that can be perceived by the reader...this is excellence. And if you need more convincing, go ahead and read "Strength" from the same upcoming collection The Breaking of a Shell:

Strength

He raised his fist

she resists

Her spirit says fight

she’s a civil war

Resistance her empire

She carries blood behind her teeth

graves in her chest

Her words a eulogy

for the woman that once was

So when her son asked

if his father still loved him

her heart fell out of her mouth

and she gave it to him as a poem

© Briana LaFrazier

You felt that, didn't you? You almost stumbled in your seat. You cringed at the thought of having to look to your child and answer such a tough question. That's not only the strength of a parent, but the strength of a writer to transfigure words into memories you never even lived. Briana LaFrazier is a remarkable voice in poetry and The Breaking of a Shell will remind you that art MOVES and poetry SPEAKS!.