This long-form poem is inspired by a 19th c. statue created in Fukushima and by a man whose employment with New Mexico’s Education Department made sure that no child was left behind during the 2nd Bush presidency, and whose volunteering with the Coalition for Equality was instrumental in developing the state’s pioneering human rights protection legislated in 2003.

Perfect for yourself, for a sweetheart, for anyone who’s been awed by art, feared radiation, grieved the death of someone dear, worked for justice.

In the Pool of the Sea’s Shoulder is a multi-vocal poem with parts spoken by Marie Curie, the Radium Girls, and a mysterious fisherman. A grieving sister’s encounters with a 19th century metal sculpture originally made in Fukushima and its associated legends of the sea prompt memories of her deceased brother’s activist years ensuring addition of LGBT+ to the New Mexico’s crimes law. He and his life partner converse about their lives in the high desert of the Southwest amid the nuclear industry’s benchmarks of Los Alamos and Church Rock.

"In the pool of the sea’s shoulder is a voyage of quirkiness, outrage and underlying anxiety, and many voices—apt for talking statues, news clips, and interjections from the deceased."

Janet MacFadyen

"This poem is utterly beautiful. Such a complex and moving tribute to your brother, reaching and fanning beyond him, embracing all of us, really. At first, I resisted the statue, as I resist museums with too much signage. Let me just stand here and look, I think. Which is exactly what you allowed and invited me to do. With each reading, I saw more."

Ann McCutchan

"A modern classic; an elemental deep-dive. Within the elegiac energy, there are echoes of Muriel Rukeyser’s activist commitment. Tender yet ludic, this is a work of searing intelligence."

James Byrne