Best Poet in the Universe

So you are thinking that maybe it's Emily Dickenson or Walt Whitman? Not in my poetry book. It's Irene Koronas. Never heard of the critically acclaimed Cambridge, MA poet/artist? She lives in the Hub of the Universe, so that makes her the Best Poet in the Universe. You might know her better as my mother.

Yes, she is the women who carried me for 9 months and gave birth to me. But, what you might not know is that she has been creating art, both visual and written, since the age of twelve. She has a fine art degree from the Mass School of Art, she is the Poet Editor of the Wilderness House Literary Review, the "word catcher" for the Bagel Bards (a weekly gathering of local poets) and most recently a finalist for the first ever Cambridge Poet Populist.



I have been exposed to art, in many forms, all my life because it was always around. Not only in my house, but in New England. Many a weekend days were spent being dragged to another gallery, outdoor sculpture garden or bookstore. Then I was a little brat, now I'm gratefull to have grown up in a region rich with culture. I love living in St. Pete, FL, but it's nothing like the Hub of the Universe.

Enjoy this poem by Irene Koronas:

the following poem is in gratitude to the people in the city I love:



tree line streets and gingko leaves pressed between pages

some refer to my city as the republic of Cambridge

when blizzard pounded my door, the funds needed to rescue

when other doors were shut, this city released relief

my groceries in reusable bags, an easy carry,

to the dead end street where I've lived forty years,

where maple and ash trees change from green to yellow

as often as good neighbors

resting at night beside great grandmother, grandfather,

students, doctor, architects, artists and a photographer.

conversations with mothers, computer programmer,

office worker and retired factory help. our street has seven addresses,

four houses and two abutters

where else can I meet the world on a small short street.

where else can I hear dialects, differences a close beat

where else can an old woman walk one block to a bus stop,

two to four blocks to grocery store, post office, coffee shop,

or pass by the elderly center for a yoga class, or just to ask,

is this the center of the universe

Irene Koronas