To Daughter a Devil by Megan Mary Moore

Poetry Book Review

Title: To Daughter a Devil
Author:  Megan Mary Moore
Publisher: Unsolicited Press
Released: January 3, 2023
Pages: 98
ISBN: 978-1956692518
Stars: 5.0

To Daughter a Devil by American poet Megan Mary Moore is one of the fiercest, most visceral books of poetry I have ever read written by a woman. Inspired by classic horror movies like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby and the archetypal horror of being a female, from the Devil within to every devil we face, she has created a cohesive narrative of dark poetic perfection all women should read. I learned what a bezoar is. I had no idea. Moore writes poems about things that scare her, and they will scare you too.

She reveals the secret fears of all mothers of daughters, reminisces about seeing JonBenet Ramsay’s photo at a supermarket tabloid stand, what it is to be a bad seed, and how using a tampon must feel to the prepubescent. Moore also asks thought-provoking questions and covers everything about being a female child, from just knowing she was born bad to one burned as a witch and to the Enfield poltergeist, with such intelligence, insight, and courage that it has blown me away.

Her fascination with death, morbidity and natural and supernatural afflictions women face is just the kind of phantasmagoric poetry that captivates my imagination. I wish I could write something half as clever. “If Gregor Samsa Was a Girl” was simply brilliant. By the time I read “Our Love is a Two-Headed Calf, “If Swan Lake Had a Happy Ending,” “Madame Tussaud Makes a Death Mask of Marie Antoinette in Madeleine Cemetery,” “Eulogy for the Doe on the Side of State Road 128,” and “Snow White Receives a DM from Dopey,” I had goosebumps and was sighing aloud over how damn good Moore’s work is. I cannot wait to read more of her work.

It shows that Megan Mary Moore holds an MFA in poetry from Miami University. Her work has been published in numerous poetry outlets, magazines, and reviews. To Daughter a Devil was published by Unsolicited Press out of Portland, Oregon—a press I will watch.

“Born Under a Bad Sign” by Christine Bode

Poetry

Born Under a Bad Sign

A poem by ©Christine Bode 2023

At the top of your business trade, pre-pandemic
Now you’re back at the beginning while inflation is endemic

Starting over now when most folks think about retiring
Feeling sorry for yourself is so ridiculously tiring

There’s nothing you can do about happenstance
Bank account screams six dollars and ninety-four cents

Coulda, shoulda, woulda, there’s no going back
No matter how hard you try, there’s always something you lack

A thousand things to learn, another thousand things to do
And no one is gonna feel sorry for you

You’ll work every weekday, weekend and holiday too
And one day, you’ll have enough to buy those new shoes

Just fake it ‘til you make it; if everyone does it, it’s no lie
Eventually, you’ll get there, so don’t take the time to cry

You’ll work until noon on the day that you die
‘Cause you’re born under a bad sign, with a new moon in the sky

“Twin Flame” by Christine Bode

Poetry

Twin Flame

A poem by ©Christine Bode 2018

I see my twin flame’s image in the dark side of
a gold and gilded mirror, as he holds it to my face
so I can see my covert beauty and foremost strengths,
as well as my ugliest prejudices.

I see myself in his shadow, curious, compelled to seek
the verity of his existence, to know my perception is echt.
Aware that my romanticized projection may be
unwelcome, I am wary of this infatuation.

I dwell in the light on the other side of the mirror
but fascination for his knowledge, philosophy and
strange, unusual life choices
keep me lingering, just at arm’s length.

Intensely drawn to this man, I hardly know,
my intuition tells me we are not soul mates,
but I can’t help but wonder what he’s here to teach me,
and I sense that an existential earthquake is imminent.

I am in awe of his courage to live an
authentic, alternative lifestyle, indulging in
every deviant whim of which he can conceive, but I’m
repelled by his politics and self-absorption.

Yang to my yin, he’s reflected parts of me I’ve never known.
Yet I could swear I’ve met him before,
in the pages of a horror novel—an inkling that a fictional
character manifested makes me distracted and uneasy.

What transformation is he the catalyst for in my life?
I sense an alchemical reaction and am unsure about how
much I want to change, but he will show me
what I most desire, as well as what I most fear.

I am neither brave nor foolish enough to follow him further
than that garden gate of exquisite, ornamental iron
because I can see the bloodstains that linger there,
and I’m afraid that blood is mine.

Read this poem and more by Christine Bode in her latest collection, Eden Redefined.

Eden Redefined is available on:

Amazon (Paperback) CDN $14.99: https://amzn.to/3T6vbZf

Amazon (Kindle) CDN $8.99: https://amzn.to/3gWMFtH

“Endpoint” by Christine Bode

Poetry

Endpoint

A poem by ©Christine Bode 2022

This epoch’s information inundation’s now acute;

devouring knowledge like pecan brownies until I need to puke.

Overwhelmed with info in the social media age;

watch decent people hurtling into an unrelenting rage.

It’s so hard to distinguish what is real from what is fake;

so be careful what you say, or they will burn you at the stake.

It’s fatiguing to put up with another’s conflicting views;

just cannot read another doomsday headline in the news.

Work-at-home isolation turned me into a sad, anxious hermit;

she shouts tough love at me on the phone, but I don’t have the bandwidth.

If we can’t learn to live and let live with distinct viewpoints,

and we can’t grasp how to figure it out, it will be our endpoint.

★★★★★

Read more poetry by Christine Bode in Eden Refugee and Eden Redefined.

Eden Redefined is available on:

Amazon (Paperback) CDN $14.99: https://amzn.to/3T6vbZf

Amazon (Kindle) CDN $8.99: https://amzn.to/3gWMFtH

Eden Refugee is available on:

Amazon (Paperback) CDN $14.99: https://amzn.to/3FEAXhg

Amazon (Kindle) CDN $8.99: https://amzn.to/3TQDd9x