Is to slide down the slope of a woman's body where every time her tongue tastes skin she splits apart somebody's wall of rules. She's practiced at slamming a sledge hammer into the concrete that presses down with the heft of millions of mouths chanting sin-sin-sin. To claim the right to live, she once had to wrench her body out of the sucking muck of tales spread thick by magazines, movies, and newspapers. She's been perfecting her art for 50 years. She knows what it feels like to skid down a steep hill far from home on a street in a city without maps. She knows the exhilaration of living a story no one believed could be written. She's thrilled you crafted a narrative no one has read before. You realize, don’t you, that artists never retire. The art of the old lesbian has always been to become new.
Read more of her amazing poetry on site, here and here: https://150kansaspoems.wordpress.com/2019/08/26/to-the-woman-i-loved-too-soon-by-diane-silver/
Guest Editor Shibazrule, aka Lisa D. Chavez, is a poet based in New Mexico. Her poetry books include Destruction Bay (West End Press) and In An Angry Season. (University of Arizona Press). She also writes memoir and fiction, and teaches in the MFA program at the University of New Mexico. She’s delighted to have the opportunity to be Guest Editor here at The Coop for the month of August.
The Coop: A Poetry Cooperative 
I live far from home on a street. In a place without Maps. Diane Silver’s poem reached me today and I cling to the words like a lifeline as I once again go deep to find the power to recreate. Never let it be said that poems do not save lives because they do and this one did this morning and I thank you. I stand up from the edge of the despair determined to become new.
Oh wow. Thanks so much for the comment, wayfarer1231. I am so pleased you have joined me on the journey to become.
[…] The Art of the Old LesbianIs to slide down the slope of a woman's body where everytime her tongue tastes skin she splits apart somebody'swall of rules.She's practiced at slamming a sledge hammer into theconcrete that presses down with the heft of millions ofmouths chanting sin-sin-sin.(read the rest) […]
Once again, Diane, you have outdone yourself. Thank you for sharing your talent.
[…] Is to slide down the slope of a woman’s body where every time her tongue tastes skin she splits apart somebody’s wall of rules. She’s practiced at slamming a sledge hammer into the concrete that presses down with the heft of millions of mouths chanting sin-sin-sin. more […]