literally 2.5 magnitude
this morning
jazz hands, shuffle hands
sleight of hand hands
underneath the mantle
no show of hands
these hands. My hands
underneath a light sweater
my mantle
in a way hugging my
own heart that matches
a quake, a quiver
as the hurricanes, tornadoes,
and 100-year-old trees pass
small tremors we try to believe
are sighs of a waiting planet
—
Terri McCord’s latest published collection is The Beauts, although she is circulating a new manuscript as well. A Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee, her poems have been included in numerous journals and anthologies including the forthcoming Coast Lines anthology, Dulcet, Boats Against the Current, Slippery Elm, and New Square Review. She earned a literary fellowship (2001-2002) from the South Carolina Arts Commission, and she earned an MFA from Queens University in Charlotte. A visual artist as well, McCord loves to engage with language and the natural world.
