January 11: Flight to Florida

After Bangor was enshrouded by ice yesterday morning and our flight was delayed five hours, we felt very fortunate to be on the only plane leaving the airport that afternoon. Our gratitude was bolstered by the fact that on the drive to the airport we passed many cars off the road--even after conditions had improved--and when we got there, we were surrounded by hundreds of troops--men and women who had been deployed for months overseas and who were now going to have to wait one more long day to continue their flights home to family.

 

I felt relief tinged with a little guilt when we finally arrived in the warm embrace of Florida late last night for our vacation.

 

Outside the airport

Killdeer cries in the rainy dark

beyond the palms.

 

And then this unexpected stopover on the drive to my mother's house:

 

Part of this happy crowd--

cheering on the Patriots

in a smoky Hooters bar.

Posted with Blogsy

"Transportation"

NB: This blog posting is not a haiku post but a general-information-about-Kristen's-poetry post. Sorry for the interruption! If I had a website, I'd be posting this there, but I don't, so...

Transportation is the title of my book that was published in December (see my December 15, 2011 blog entry), and it's also the name of the last poem in the book. Today I had the incredible honor of hearing that poem read by Garrison Keillor on "The Writer's Almanac" on National Public Radio. You too can hear and/or read the poem by going here. This has got to be one of the highlights of my life as a poet, and I was really feeling the love today. Thank you to all of you who sent such kind words in response to hearing my poem! It means so much to me. Poets don't usually get a lot of fuss made about their work, so this has been an amazing experience.

I've had a lot of people inquire about purchasing a copy of my book, so here's the scoop: Transportation is available for $16.00 (includes shipping in the US) directly from the publisher, Megunticook Press, otherwise known as me, at 12 Mount Battie St., Camden, ME 04843. Mail a check made out to Kristen Lindquist (that's me) and include your mailing address, and I'll send you a signed copy right away. The book is also available at The Owl & Turtle Bookstore in Camden, ME; Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick, ME; the Reading Corner in Rockland, ME, and Longfellow Books in Portland, ME--please shop at our independent bookstores if you can.

Again, thank you for your interest in and support of poetry!