Connie Wanek's On Speaking Terms

"Take my word for it—this new book by Connie Wanek is outstanding. And some of the poems will stick with you for the rest of your life." —Ted Kooser

Check it out here.

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Steve Orlen

In the house of the voice of Maria Callas

In the house of the voice of Maria Callas
We hear a baby’s cries, and the after-supper
Rattle of silverware, and three clocks ticking
To different tunes and ripe plums
Sleeping in their chipped bowl, and traffic sounds
Dissecting the avenues outside. And we hear, like water
Pouring over time itself, the pure distillate arias
Of the numerous pampered queens who have reigned,
And the working girls who have suffered
The envious knives, and the breathless brides
With their horned helmets who have fallen in love
And gone crazy or fallen in love and died
On the grand stage at their appointed moments,
And who will singe of them now? Maria Callas is dead,
Although the full lips and slanting eyes
And flaring nostrils of her voice resurrect
Dramas we are able to imagine in this parlor
On evenings like this one, adding some color,
Adding some order. Of whom it was said:
She could imagine almost anything and give voice to it.