This poem just appeared in San Diego Poetry Annual 2018-2019 (out March 1, 2019).
It has a really extensive list of poets. Here is the information from the publisher:
Both volumes of the 2018-19 San Diego Poetry Annual will be officially published simultaneously on March 1st.
The cover art, a view of the Oceanside Pier, comes from Michael James Slattery (luminous-views.com). Choose Cover Photo from the menu to see the cover.
The volume of poems in English, containing 353 poems by 328 poets, runs 441 pages, and will sell for the retail price of $22.50 at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Powells.com, and through bookstores.
A link to the SDPA PDF is here.
My sister on the phone from Birmingham
with my mother who can no longer talk
but who listens and tries to be well,
and my dad who announces his retirement
like success,
and suddenly
I remember him from before,
before he and I stopped speaking for four years,
before my mother began her long descent into Parkinson’s,
before Birmingham Sunday tore me loose from my roots,
and all the deaths, and the dying,
my father, on my bicycle, on his way back
from his first day at work after the war,
this unworded man, his new laughter,
wishing me a happy new year.
And somehow it is,
and, in this moment,
we are everything
we set out to be.
This poem shows that Charles has set his keel deep in the human heart’s need for justice.
Thanks, Gene. Your readership and comments are always appreciated.