MARTHA J. STOTHARD

January 2008

Martha Jeanne Stothard was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved to California where she married John Stothard. Together they raised two daughters, Laura and Jennifer, both California residents. Always artistic, Stothard began to write poetry eight years ago. As with many writers, her poetic artistry was born of a cathartic need to purge feelings long suppressed. What she found in poetry was a beautiful way to express not-so-beautiful things. As she began to seek out the like-minded, she found a welcoming community in the local poetry scene. Stothard’s first collection, "An Elegance of Sorrows," was published in September 2007. She can be found in many of the local poetry meetings in and around Orange, California.

Sewing Together Stars

Five points or six,
pentagram or Mogen David,
mother earth or Jewish mother.
She cut the cloth.
Delicately turning hems
needle and thread,
small delicate blind stitches.
Background cloth of red
for pentagrams,
background cloth of light blue
for Mogen David.
Stitching, stitching,
nimble fingers flying
not a single stitch seen,
as she sits quietly
sewing together stars.

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Misty (A tribute to Misty Mallory)

Dawn, her words find me
mourning the morning as time flies.
The day ticking, ticking, ticking away.
Slowly at first,
picking up speed at the meridian.
After glow of full sun,
dying orb casting shadows.
Misty starts her slumber.
Twilight twinkles,
the moonrise bids the sun adieu.
One by one the points of light
guide Misty's eloquence
to other worlds.
Her painful silence in our world
is cherished beauty in another.