Coming Soon: Muriel Craft Bailey Honorable Mention Poem, "At Starbucks with Frankenstein's Monster" in Comstock Review, Winter 2024 (delayed)
By IMDB, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=880563
I have many fond memories of watching monster movies with my older brothers when I was growing up. This poem was inspired by "The Blob" and published in Rawhead Journal, October 2025. Click on the link to read the poem.
Egret Among Geese
I have always been a bird watcher, and a general fan of fowl, aside from a brief period after watching The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock, when I gave them some serious side-eye.
Ode on an Orange
One of my favorite types of poems to write is the ode. An ode is a lyric poem addressed to something or someone you deem praiseworthy. I like to write them because they help me to be less cranky by focusing on what is good or beautiful in the world. "Why is there something rather than nothing?" the philosopher asks. I'm glad some things exist, like oranges. I published this poem, "Ode on an Orange," in Blue Mountain Review.
This link to the poem in Blue Mountain Review is fickle, so I have copied it below.
Elegy for Our Old Car
I wrote a poem a while back called "Elegy for Our Old Car" that was published in The Heights Observer. The picture in the newspaper is of my husband and me standing in front of our brand new Chevy Nova in 1988. I remember thinking when I wrote the poem, nearly 22 years later, that our old cat, Stella, was the same age as the car. When I first wrote the poem, Stella was 18, and she was mentioned in the poem. The poem was rejected the first few times I sent it out, and I thought maybe it was because of the cliche of poets with their cats. I've even seen some literary magazines say, "No cat poems, please!" So, since I had to take Stella out of the poem, I will include her here.
Hiking Along Euclid Creek
When I lived in South Euclid, Ohio, my favorite activity was hiking along the Euclid Creek pathway near our home. When I was asked to write a poem to share at South Euclid's 2021 summer celebration, "Bexley Bash," I naturally chose the creek as my subject.
Click the link above or scroll down to read the poem below.
Poem Inspired by Robert Frost
The site called "Frost Notes," published poetry inspired by Robert Frost, but as far as I can see, it no longer exists. I am including it here so it will have a home again. This is a copy of the webpage as it once appeared.
In 2010, I was honored to be in a publication of Heights Arts called Poetography, a combination of poetry and photography by local artists and writers.
The following three poems, "Bullfrog on the Beach," "Brief Candle," and "The House Witch," appeared in the inaugural edition of Rubbertop Review, 2009
This poem, "Cicadas," was published in White Pelican Review, 2007.
This poem, "The Kickball Player," appeared in California Quarterly in 2004. It is about a very cool kid I knew in middle school.
These poems were third place contest winners in Whiskey Island Magazine #44, 2001
Tea Ceremony
This poem was accepted by Poetry Motel, but I never saw it in print. I sent my check, and they sent me a different edition. "Curiouser and curiouser," as Alice would say.
Graduate school was a busy time. However, I did squeeze out these two poems to publish in the Case Reserve Review and my little chapbook, Spare Change.
This was the first poem I published after graduating from college. I ran across it recently after learning that this professor had passed away. *Sigh*
