Kate Clayton

Sugar Mule has been good to me. My debut collection, Human Shade, features four poems published across three different issues of the magazine. It is such a boost to forge a relationship with an editor who keeps wanting more of my work.

The two poems currently featured in Sugar Mule #37 give mention to figures as diverse as John Lennon and Miranda the cat. They are in good company in this issue, alongside poems by poets such as local favorite Mary Kay Rummel.

Kudos to Cameron Scott for another fine job.

I find the time to write poetry by getting up before dawn. I began writing poems with “matins” (morning prayer) in the title after reading Lousie Glück’s The Wild Iris. At first, these were quiet, grief-stricken prayers. Yet, over time, I have opened up to increasing experimentation, playing with forms more wildly, allowing myself to venture into political and ideological irreverence in search of greater truths.

This poem represents one such adventure. The final imagery comes from a brief vacation in Burgundy with Val. The car rental place upgraded us, at no extra cost, from a sensible Fiat to a nippy Alfa Romeo, and we found ourselves whizzing through the Yonne, stuffing pieces of fresh almond croissant into each other’s mouths. When we came upon the church at Saint-Père-Sous-Vèzelay, we were greeted by decapitated statuary. The implied violence struck me. Sometime later, the icons returned to me in this poem.

See also: “Three Poems in Sugar Mule Online“

And for those of you who can’t make it, for whatever reason–enjoy the poems!