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Joanne the Poet - The Poetry of Joanne M. Clarkson

Stalker Poem in Lily Review

My Poem “To the Stalker Who Said He Wanted to Draw My Hair” is included in the Lily Poetry Review’s Winter 2022 edition. This is a very personal poem and includes mention of terrifying incidents that happened to my grandmother and my mother. This happened to me many years ago but I still remember it vividly – this man approaching me in a store when I was a teenager and telling me my hair was beautiful and that he was an artist and wanted to draw it. He wanted me to get in his car. I recall my confusion. I knew it would be wrong for me to trust him, but… Then a vivid picture of the aftermath of what happened to my mother one summer afternoon when I was 11 flooded my mind. I am so grateful to Eileen Cleary and the other editors and readers of this outstanding journal for including my work. Reading over the other poems here makes me feel more and more honored that my words are alive beside them. Editing and publishing a literary magazine these days takes a huge amount to time and funding. I so appreciate those who dedicate themselves to this invaluable enterprise.

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