crow-picked garden
crow-picked garden Read More »
Ocean Memories
Pris Campbell
About the artist:
Formerly a clinical psychologist, Pris Campbell was sidelined by ME/CFS (myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome) in 1990. “I now write poetry and create graphics in this much quieter life, publishing eight books of poetry through small-press publishers. I live in the Greater West Palm Beach area with my husband and two cats.”
About the artwork:
“As former sailor, I find the sea a place of joy and healing. A photograph of a couple strolling the beach, taken during a weekend in Daytona, became not just this walk, in my mind, but multiple walks, the energy from previous ones accompanying them, enhancing their experience.”
Visuals editor:
Sara Kohrt
Cousins
Pris Campbell
About the artist:
Pris Campbell has published free verse and short forms (haiku and tanka) in numerous journals over the years. She developed her love of graphic manipulation of images through creating haiga–haiku combined with an image. One of her graphics was used for the cover of the poetry journal Red-headed Stepchild. A former clinical psychologist sidelined by myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) since 1990, she makes her home in greater West Palm Beach, Florida.
About the artwork:
“This is a modified image of my two first cousins in childhood, with me in the middle. I created the image this way to express how memories of those we’ve loved and lost still travel with us. Both died in their sixties of sudden heart attacks. They were like sister and brother to me, and I loved them dearly. Their deaths were a huge loss, and I still smile to think
A Call In The Night
I married him in-between tours of Vietnam as a Navy junior officer, and even though we divorced after eight years, we stayed in touch and saw each other over the years.
When he emailed two years ago to say he’d been diagnosed with esophogeal cancer, I was concerned. But after radiation and an operation he wrote that his first two scans were good, and the doctors were hopeful. He was always a strong man and had been healthy, so I relaxed my fear somewhat.
When I wrote him a few months later, his reply was strange. He just said, “A lot is going on here,” and didn’t sign the note. He still worked as a lawyer, so I thought he was doing well and busy again. But no followup note came.
A Call In The Night Read More »
Battlefield
Pris Campbell
His heart
is a battlefield
of scar tissue
and hardened walls
from radiation.
So certain the tumor
in his throat would take him
to his knees, wrench his life away,
they brought forth
the beast…that fairy tale
of modern medicine
gone wrong…and now
Sea Dreams
Pris Campbell
About the artist:
Pris Campbell has published free verse and short forms (haiku and tanka) in numerous journals over the years. She developed her love of graphic manipulation of images through creating haiga, haiku combined with an image. One of her graphics was used for the cover of Red-headed Stepchild, a poetry journal. A former clinical psychologist, sidlined by myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) since 1990, she makes her home in greater West Palm Beach, Florida.
About the artwork:
“The obvious joy these children show and the birds circling freely above them reflects how I felt when I’m near the ocean. I was a sailor before I got ME/CFS. The ocean gives me great joy in spite of my illness. I changed the colors to give the original photograph the feeling of a mystical dream, one that can remain with you, sea nearby or not,
