Breaking, December, 2016

New Jersey Poet  (but Westchester, New York raised) Kerri Nicole McCaffrey was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the staff at The Westchester Review.  Thank you to all the hardworking staff there for this honor; I am grateful.  Check out the current issue of The Westchester Review by clicking on the link: http://www.westchesterreview.com/

Breaking…24 November 2015

Kerri Nicole McCaffrey’s Poetry Makes Slam Poem Wall of Fame!

Kerri’s Poetry was listed as the top rated poem by Slam Poems.com!

Slam Poems Wall of Fame Kerri Nicole McCaffrey (link to Wall of Fame)

Read the poem, below…

Tonight
there is a half moon horizon
and the murk and smudge of the yesterday
the charcoal darkness of the last hour
and the swath of pitch upon your life
is shattered
as if by switch blade…
Breathe
the car won’t start–
Breathe–
your throat is sore–
Breathe
as if you were in deep woods
and emerged into a glade
such flowers
alcoholism retrograde
carried off by bees
like so much pollen
on pretty yellow legs–
Breathe
What other choice do you have?
Ask Sexton, ask Plath
Wolfe and Hemingway–
lay down if you need
buttercup-brushed cheeks
Deptford pinks, small and bright–
honeysuckle, bite the stem
sweet life–
Say it, you need to mean it–
grasses whisper it to you,
sway it
as it grows dark
and you wander like a peacock in the clearing.
The mocking: “Her mouth is black!”
The: “Go to the nurse young lady!”
Dams break, tears a’flood–
but you stop in a quiet bathroom
to see black blood
and notice
in that porcelain nest
that the ink is really blue
and you think of finger painting the mirror–
a young, prodigal priest doling out psychedelic ashes–
a sapphire susurration.
Breathe–
that kind of breath.