Notes
81 Notes I’m indebted to the Persian poet Jelaluddin (Rumi) for the poem on the frontispiece, “Somewhere, beyond the idea . . .” These lines are from The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks (New York: HarperOne, 2004); to Diane Marks for calling my attention to it in a new context; and to Misagh Naderi for illuminating for me the mystery in the grand old poet. I’m grateful to Van Wade-Day for the painting that’s used on the front cover of the book. Thanks to Carolyn Keene, author of The Mystery of Lilac Inn (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1931), for the second epigraph for the first section, and to Clara Haymon for her research to locate it. The first epigraph for the second section is from the poem “Song After Sadness ” by Katie Ford, copyright © 2012. The second epigraph for the second section is from St. Augustine. The epigraph to the third section is from Paula D’Arcy, expressed during her retreat talks on spirituality. 82 “The Center Cannot” is indebted to W. B. Yeats for its title and to Laura Mullen for the slumber party. “Woman in the Middle” is indebted to Vance Bourjailie, for the description of a trumpet’s attack as “the sound of fine paper tearing,” and to Houston Haymon and Bob Leavell for teaching me to love the sound of trumpets. I’m indebted to Pov Thoj, Hmong singer, and his translator, Kao Kalia Yang, for the lyrics in the epigraph for the fourth section. These lines are from Two Lines XIV: World Writing in Translation, edited by Zack Rogow (San Francisco: Two Lines Press, 2007). Many thanks to my poetry writing students, over many years, for their dedication to craft and for their radical and fearless honesty, and to the first poetry writing class I ever taught, at LSU in 1985, for teaching me the power of the sestina form to explore language and reveal new material. And, as always, to Cordell notes ...
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