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KINDNESS FROM A DARK GOD Editors: Marcia Cohee, Ricki Mandeville, Michael Miller ISBN: 978-1-4243-4492-5 $12.00 It takes only a cursory reading of Ben Trigg's first full-length book to realize that his imagination runs where it pleases; among the events captured in these poems are a lunch date with Cleopatra, a romantic bonding over "Peanuts" cartoons and an attack on migrant farmers by killer strawberries. Of course, as the host of a longtime Orange County reading, Trigg also believes in involving the community, and his book features a pair of "poetry poker" matches with two other acclaimed local authors — Aaron Roberts and Steve Ramirez. |
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ben Trigg is the co-host of Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug Caffe in Orange, California. As a host, he works to remind people that poetry is often fun, and sometimes silly. When not at the Ugly Mug, Ben spends his time using a BA in drama to work in educational research. He has performed throughout California, parts of the Northeastern U.S., and in Texas as part of the Austin International Poetry Festival. Ben was also one of the organizers behind the first Orange County Poetry Festival in 2002, as well as subsequent festivals. Learn more about the Two Idiots Peddling Poetry series at: poetryidiots.com Read reviews of Ben's book at the OCWeekly.com & Poetix |
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Consulting Chernabog
His laughter is a stained glass window
shattered by an ice storm;
his eyes, molten sulfur against onyx.
I know I should run, but do not.
Wind and spirits howling around me,
I stand before this Slavic god,
and whisper a promise.
I pledge remembrance, belief, so that he will
continue to exist in at least one man's heart.
In return, I ask him to fly me to his mountaintop,
wrap me in his wings, and tell stories.
In the darkness he weaves tales of a heritage
I have yet to touch: the folklore and rituals
of great-grandparents I never knew.
I ask if his shadows covered them
as they left their homeland,
fleeing from a lesser-known genocide.
Did he carry them to their new beginning,
an unexpected kindness from a dark god?
Did they ever stop missing the past,
or was that the price of escape?
My questions overflow,
and the answers come as they will until dawn.
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