The poems within this collection are new ground for me; no, not in the way that they personify planetary beings as mythological goddesses; not even in their tendency to dramatize history and culture or spin a love story, but in the way that they work together.

This collection builds each poem on the back of the other. It ties together concepts that I feel have long been circulating in my brain, begging for space on the page. Mythology, Gods, Queerness, History, and Love are all pitted against a Longing through Time and Distance, Cultural Rejection, and Fear.

But under all of that, there is a story and a plot that reaches out to the millions of queer women and girls who deserve to be represented in the media and see their own love stories on the page. When I put women loving women into my poetry — liken it to goddesses and planets, power and beauty on the largest scale — I say that their love is worthy of the same mythological epics as Persephone and Hades! Or Orpheus and Eurydice!

They too have the right to make history.

The poems in Perigee tell the story, or fragments of it, of the Earth and the Moon as lovers torn apart. I tie in concepts of cultural history, nature imagery, and mythological allegory to personify the two planetary bodies and give them substance and backstory. I began with creating a picture of feminine love and desire as found in the beauty and simplicity of nature; I wanted to tie in large themes of oceans and planets to smaller instances of flowers and the light from a sliver of the moon. As I kept writing toward this theme, I developed a larger conceit in the allegory of the Earth and the Moon as lovers across millennia.

I start with a short definition, a titular poem in itself: "Perigee" Short and simple, it introduces the planetary concept of the work and gives the reader an inkling of the Earth and Moon's relation to each other.

Throughout the chapbook, I dance close to the idea of metaphysical poetry, not always explaining my allusions or meaning fully. I feel like this level of mystery is not impossible to surpass for the common reader, but it helps the audience experience the poems on multiple levels. I want to echo the concept of a Shakespearean couplet; the metaphysical aspects of my poems make it so the reader is forced to consider what I mean and how I mean it, it suggests they go back through and read again with a new concept in mind. This mystery and invitation for a new experience in each reading of the poem should leave my audience with a question or concept in their minds long after they read the piece.

Overall, the collection is one of beauty and nature, embracing godhood and mythology while rejecting the heteronormativity that often dominates cultural tales. It depicts a love that reflects gentleness and simplicity while at the same time challenging culture and religion. Perigee is a story of the Longing, Anger, History, and Resignation that tie both myth and history to love.

Enjoy.

*Please note that the poem “Intimacy” is a golden shovel of the poem “Alba” by Ezra Pound, whom I would like to acknowledge.