She came down from Mt. Rainier wearing khaki park ranger's garb, a female Moses descending Sinai, clutching a leather chapbook, survival notes for a “Dangerous Life”. Nightingales were songbirds for the grief, as MS stole in like 'Frisco fog, unnoticed by a comet-blinded public. And when the awards came, strokes of jackpot luck, acquired enthusiasms soon were dropped in excruciating back spasms. She touted poetry as civic-glue, paste for a populist purpose. Olympia’s oracle rarely leaves the house, curtains drawn, newspapers unread, writing feverishly, as “The Body Mutinies”.
Dedicated to Lucia Perillo, winner of numerous awrds for her poetry including the prestigious $500,000 MacArthur award for her collection "*The Oldest Map with the Name America*".