Susan Isla Tepper is a twenty-year writer and the author of 11 published books of fiction and poetry and 5 stage plays. She has been nominated 21 times for the Pushcart Prize in both fiction and poetry. Her play ‘The Crooked Heart’ concerning artist Jackson Pollock premiered on October 25, 2022 at the Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC. Adapted from an earlier novel, it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Another play, LADY IN A POST BOX, co-written with poet and writer Ciaran O’Driscoll is moving toward production in Ireland. Her third play, 28 MARVIN AVENUE is making the rounds. Her satirical Novel OFFICE was re-printed as a Second Edition. A new Novel will be out in the winter. Susan is a Brand Ambassador for The Galway Review.
http://www.susantepper.com

White Trees

By Susan Isla Tepper

After the cold months
the white trees come
one of the first to bloom
in a snowy burst
like a bride
jumping out of a cake.
My first wedding
I wore blue.
The second time
a seashell pink.
I’m ready to step into
white after the long cold spell.
Gathering up
tulips to ring my arms,
a nesting bird
set in a crown of twigs
that captures
captures captures
the veil.

Judith A. Lawrence was the editor/publisher of Lilly Press and River Poets Journal for several decades. She is also a prolific painter, and writer of fiction, memoir, and poetry. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, she now resides in Florida. She has published five chapbooks of poems, written a volume of short stories, and a recent memoir titled “Point of Comfort.” She is currently completing a murder/mystery novel and a book of short poems containing her watercolors, under her nom de plume Juniper Rue.