Haven

The latest little chapbook in Myrmex Press’ Chicozone Poets series is Haven, by accomplished Tehama County poet Patricia Wellingham-Jones, a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Haven features six poems, some like “Blue Bathtub” previously printed in such respected publications as the Taj Mahal Review. The poems speak of various havens, such as a long-lived-in house, a favorite garden spot and a beloved antiquarian bookstore. “Out of Exile” is a touching poem dealing with the pain and inevitability (and excitement) of a grown-up child moving away from home: “You stepped down from the banged-up/ yellow Ryder rental truck. … Heading out of here, you said.” In “Sara’s Table,” Wellingham-Jones chronicles her mother’s life through her activities centered around the kitchen table, from which she “leaped to show our friends/ the Charleston of our youth” and, in her later days, “laid her head/ on … and cried.” Available at Lyon’s Books.