Drawdown

The poems in this manuscript are an exploration of the post-divorce grieving process. They seek out a midpoint between grief and growth, the changing definition of family, and balance between self and Other. Each section of the manuscript begins with a poem centered on Lake Jackson, Florida, known locally for its sinkhole. The title of the manuscript as mentioned above describes the act of a lake draining through a sinkhole and, metaphorically, speaks to the draining of the speaker's former self. Because grief is cumulative, these poems establish the roots of their writer's grief: family, loss of childhood (along with its insularities), and divorce (the loss/changing nature of love). These poems are meant to strike a formal balance between confession and discipline, as well as to invite a shared experience through insight and quotidian details. The poems are arranged in a way that reveals the speaker's journey toward self-authorization and her willingness to assign meaning to all comers: calling upon inanimate sinkholes, mating cats, and even the "prick of mosquitos" in the hopes of turning the mirror outward.