Art of Poetry’s Kelly DeMaegd and Betty O’Hearn have been forces to reckon with in poetry for many years in Hickory and the Catawba Valley.  They have been active in Poetry Hickory, various writing groups, sponsored poetry workshops, and cheered on many aspiring and accomplished poets.

Alas, both have decided to leave our area at the same time – one for the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, one for a Great Lake to which Kelly alludes in her featured work below. Western North Carolina is situated in between. We greatly hope these beautiful poets will come back to visit often for they leave a gaping hole in our poetry world.

Godspeed, ladies! All the best wished for you in your new locations!

Kelly DeMaegd photographed reading her poem at the Art of Poetry event on September 16, 2017 at Hickory Museum of Art.

THERE WAS NO CRAFT BEER IN THE LAND OF SKY BLUE WATERS
After “Beer Type Logos” by Matt Everley

we drank Stroh’s
from long neck bottles
housed in corrugated cardboard boxes
always threw a case in Paul Klimek’s van
anytime we hit the road

Dad drank Pabst
Grandpa drank Schlitz, sometimes Hamm’s
after his shift at the cement plant
stopped at the Dry Dock
pulled out a stool
ordered a Boilermaker
shot of whiskey and a beer
the one and one
sometimes called Block and Fall
drink two, walk a block and fall

the guy sitting next to him
talked about hauling a load of deer apples
putting a new roof on the cottage
when Grandpa was finished
he’d rise, declare, that hit the spot
wipe his mouth with his sleeve

robust, smoky, rustic, herbal, velvety –
adjectives he never used
he wouldn’t be caught dead
describing beer with those words

Betty O’Hearn reads a poem beside a photograph of sea spray. How appropriate!