No Bones About It…

…there are some interesting things happening over at Three Chairs Publishing!

COMING THIS FALL!
Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind
Poetry & Photography by Jen Payne

EXHIBIT: Where the Whole Universe Dwells
Preview images from our upcoming book at this exhibit presented by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven at Perspectives…The Gallery at Whitney Center in Hamden, CT through August 27.

POETRY READING: Guilford Poets Guild
Enjoy poems by GPG members Nan Meneely and Jen Payne on Thursday, September 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Guilford Free Library, Guilford, CT.

BOOK LAUNCH: Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind
Watch for details about the special book launch event, scheduled for October 14 & October 15 at the Martha Link Walsh Gallery in Branford, CT.

Watch for more details on our the Three Chairs Publishing website page, coming soon!

If you would like to be on our postcard/invitation mailing list, please email us your mailing address today!

Evidence: Monarch Butterfly

According to scientists, the North American continent’s Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population has declined by more than 80 percent from its average during the past two decades — and by more than 90 percent from its peak of nearly one billion butterflies in the mid-1990s. (National Wildlife Federation, “Battle for Butterflies, The fight to bring back North America’s dwindling migratory monarchs,” by Laura Tangley.)

Photo ©2017 Jen Payne, from the upcoming book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind.

Evidence: Great Spangled Fritillary

The Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) prefers violets, near which they lay their eggs each spring. They sleep through the winter and will only awaken in the spring at the same time as violet plants begin to grow. It is feared that global warming may disrupt this synchronization; this would prove catastrophic to fritillary caterpillars. (“Fritillary: A Pretty Butterfly and a Good Pollinator,” By Beatriz Moisset, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Photo ©2017 Jen Payne, from the upcoming book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind.

Greener Grass

glass-enclosed vestibule
the woman behind the counter
a dozen customers seated

The author paints a portrait
of the me I did not become
there in black and white

there seemed to be a connection
you knew they all knew one another

and me
wondering:
what if I remained?

Worked my shifts.
Married the cowboy.
Had the kids.
Lived that life.

Would it have been
the better or the worse?

Would I?

My finger dogears the page,
as if to say I was here
or remember this
the alternate ending

blurred and obscured
I was drawn to it as if to a dream.

Poem ©2016, Jen Payne, inspired by “A Great Good Place” from A Cape Cod Notebook by Robert Finch.

Evidence: Start of Spring

“Start of Spring” is one of 14 climate change indicators. It tracks the start of spring for each year, using model estimations of when enough heat has accumulated to initiate growth (leafing and flowering) in temperature-sensitive plants. Observed changes in the start of spring reflect the overall warming trend in the climate system. (U.S. Global Change Research Program)

Photo ©2017 Jen Payne, from the upcoming book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind.

Morning Garden

Evidence: Frog

Green Frog (Rana clamitans)

“At night I went out into the dark and saw a glimmering star and heard a frog, and Nature seemed to say, Well do not these suffice?” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo ©2017 Jen Payne, from the upcoming book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind. Quote: Emerson, Ralph Waldo. The Heart of Emerson’s Journals.