Shine! Showcase Laura Cushing (angelauric)

Welcome to the newest SHINE SHOWCASE!

Each week (or so... ) I  select another member of our group to showcase on our site by making them a "Feature". This means that one of their works (I choose) will be shared with everyone along with a bio. Through this showcase, I hope you will learn something new about our SHINE members as well as support their creative efforts.  If you would like to be featured it's easy: You must be a member of  SHINE and you just have to let me know! How's that for ease of use?

Unfortunately, I had only heard of the of New Jersey Pine Barrens from an episode from a "Sopranos" on HBO a while ago. Imagine my surprise (and thus revealing my geographical and historical ignorance) to find it’s a real place. Why bring this up? Well our featured creative, poet Laura Cushing (angelauric), calls the beautiful Pine Barrens home. She says, “I was born in NJ, and lived just about everywhere else for a while - but then I returned. It's my favorite place to live ever.” A Gather music correspondent, our featured creative publishes Soundtracking every Tuesday.

The Barrens, with its stately pine trees yearning and reaching for the sky, its other verdant vegetation and wandering wildlife, provides daily inspiration for Laura. “I love living in a big pine forest - that's pretty inspirational right there!”  

Her hobbies include role-playing (The Drunken Ogre Inn - a roleplaying game on Gather), music (of course!), reading, ( Kurt Vonnegut especially) walking in the Pine Barrens (can’t blame her - it’s beautiful), and playing video games.

An accomplished poet, she performs her exceptional works at cafes, libraries, various other events, including the Mid-Atlantic spoken word festival. She has written a novel, “Tequila Sunset” and a short story collection, “Michael's Story”. She's seeking publication for both. 

What might surprise you about nature lover Laura? In addition to her family, she shares her home with four housemates: three hermit crabs and a betta fish.

What  might you find wonderfully poetic (translation - romantic!) about this mother of three? Says Laura, “I'm married to my soul mate, Austin." (wizardofaus.gather.com) How many people can say that?

In my opinion, Laura Cushing's poems are textured and compelling. While all are highly visual, others are also quite visceral - like the one that follows:

NOTHING LEFT

(c) Laura Cushing

Take everything from me!
And when there is nothing left,
take my bones.

Remove them all,
puzzle them to try and conjure
a glimpse of my insubstantials.

Or just crack each open
systematically, skull to toes.

Then suck the marrow down
and see if you can erase the memory
of my taste from your tongue
or your throat.

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In a word - WOW!

Best and Keep Shining,

Pamela,Editor

SHINE...THE JOURNAL | Flash Literature, Poetry, Art and Photography!

(c)2007 P.T. Griffin