With and Without – a poem by M.J. Iuppa

With and Without

                for Meghan Rose

Shimmering shells dry
on the kitchen table—
fragile like one’s heart
Yet, able to hold the sea
like love— un-
quenchable—lives en-
twined.

Overwhelming jungle
rhapsody of stars
needle-sharp, unblinking
the steady gaze of
my daughter’s eyes.

M.J. Iuppa  is the Director of the Visual and Performing Arts Minor Program and Lecturer in Creative Writing at St. John Fisher College; and since 2000 to present, is a part time lecturer in Creative Writing at The College at Brockport. Since 1986, she has been a teaching artist, working with students, K-12, in Rochester, NY, and surrounding area. Most recently, she was awarded the New York State Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching, 2017. She has four full length poetry collections, This Thirst (Kelsay Books, 2017), Small Worlds Floating (2016) as well as Within Reach (2010) both from Cherry Grove Collections; Night Traveler (Foothills Publishing, 2003); and 5 chapbooks. She lives on a small farm in Hamlin NY.