Summer Altar to the Protector of Children

Hear the poem, published in Whale Road Review

Hi, all,

My poem, “Summer Altar to the Protector of Children” appears in the latest issue of Whale Road Review, which just dropped today. It’s their summer issue #35.

You can hear me read the poem in the attached audio (about 30 seconds), or click through to read it here.

A little more about the poem: When my older son finished first grade (this exact week two years ago) I had the fleeting thought/prayer, “thank you god for 2 months I won’t have to worry about school shootings.” The poem took shape in my mind from there, as a summer prayer to a god I didn’t know I’d been believing in.

When I wrote it out, I arranged it as three haikus, a form which I’ve always found both prayerful and fun for kids to learn.

Some people don’t like to know the “behind-the-scenes” when it comes to poem-making, but I enjoy it and hope you do, too.

I encourage you to take a look at the entire issue of WRR, which is beautiful. Read some of the other poems. I particularly loved “Inside Rizzoli’s Bookstore, When It Was Once on West 57th” by Merna Dyer Skinner. (Anyone else remember Rizzoli?)

Please read and share widely. Tomorrow on Instagram I will share the poem and also the story of a very strange coincidence related to it, so follow me there, too, if you haven’t already. @maggiefrankhsu

Maggie

PS: Don’t be shy to upgrade your Substack subscription to paid if you like my work and want to support it.