Poetry by Betsy Mars

             ​Paul Wordingham CC



When Internal Worlds Collide

Sometimes in passing, we grind
against each other's pain, like flint.
A tiny spark lights up the dark 
or inflames, destroying tender tinder. 
Sometimes we shrink, avoid contact, 
slink – tail between legs,
abrade nonetheless. We bruise
or burnish. Sometimes 
our entire geography is reshaped 
by a single passing encounter.

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Betsy Mars lives in the southern California suburbs where she practices poetry, photography, and runs Kingly Street Press. Her second release, Floored, features 27 poets from around the world and will be available early in 2021 on Amazon. Her poem, “Pyriscence,” was a winner in Alexandria Quarterly´s first line poetry contest series in 2020, and she was a finalist in both the Jack Grapes and Poetry Super Highway poetry contests. She is the author of Alinea (Picture Show Press) and co-author of In the Muddle of the Night with Alan Walowitz, coming soon from Arroyo Seco Press. 

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