Linda M. Crate

kisses of stars

bleed a sunrise for me,

chisel it out of the sky

with your sharp teeth;

place marshmallow clouds

in their places – paint

the heavens in citrine,

gold, and bright hot pink –

tell me a secret that I've never

known, and unravel me

until I lay bare before you;

kiss away all my sorrows

with the flames of nights jewels –

let those lanterns carry us home.

Interview

TSTmpj:  Your poem's erotic lyricism has a Persian feel to it for me.  Do you like Rumi and other poets of that ilk?

Linda Crate:  It's hard for me to say that as I'm unfamiliar with Rumi or other Persian writers, but I guess now that you've mentioned them to me I'll have to look into it. I generally like any poetry that has a lot of heart and discernible meaning. 

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TSTmpj:  Some symbols, themes are universal.  Do you find it difficult to write about love, intimacy, desire, or does it come more naturally?

Linda Crate:  It depends on what I'm mood I'm in honestly. There are some days where I feel more inclined to write about love, intimacy, and desire yet there are others where I am much more inclined to write darker spirited things or horrifying haunts that only an avid horror reader/writer could love. 

But I do think it comes to me naturally to answer the other part of that question. I am a rather romantic person even if you can't always tell that. I am more apt to write a passionate poem than to tell someone how much they mean to me – I find it hard to articulate those sorts of things in person for whatever reason. 

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TSTmpj:  Do you usually compose your poetry at night, or in daylight hours?  Or both?  How does the time you write affect how you write, do you feel?

Linda Crate:  I write in both hours. I feel that the poems at night are more philosophical and sometimes deeper and less introspective than the ones written in the morning hours. Though, there are days where that may be flip-flopped. It just depends on my source of inspiration I think – whatever my muse gives me to work with that's the current I take.

Bio Note

Linda Crate is a Pennsylvanian native published in various journals. She enjoys golden autumn laughter.