09/23/2025
from Cheryl.Derby.58
To friends and family of Cheryl Derby who ran the Book Outlet Store for many years in downtown Troy, Finishing Line Press is publishing a small book of my poems titled “Ponies and other Poems.” It is now available for discounted pre-orders. These poems use nature to describe dreamlike reality.
You can pre-order a discounted copy of the book if you pay with PayPal, or signup for a PayPal account when you order. Thank you for your support.
https://www.finishinglinepress.com/.../ponies-and-other.../
Let me know if you want to order a different way.
Here is an excerpt of one of the poems in the collection.
MEMPHIS CORNERS
Outside the car, it rained so hard,
I couldn’t breathe.
I ran into the bar and took a seat,
past tomato-colored barns,
cornstalks clothed in rain’s sorrow,
crackling logs warming Memphis Corner’s Bar.
Day came crashed to smithereens,
such thunder, dark markings slashed upon the wall.
Men huddled inside their scotches,
bursts of laughter beneath the gloom,
in between he almost cried.
Guitars boomed from the walls of water,
sometimes saying that we loved,
his boat of laughter pitched and tossed
on fickle seas.
In the holy land of their voices,
I search for the soul of this day.
