My poem
Ode of a Buggy Whip, written in first person, appears on page 33 of the June 2018 issue of
Perspectives Magazine, where inanimate objects and animals have their say.
I wrote the original "Ode
to a Buggy Whip" in third person during a workshop presented by then Poet Laureate of Oregon
Paulann Petersen. She challenged us to imagine and write about an object no longer used. I chose a buggy whip because I enjoyed the cliché, but it turned into an all-too-familiar story from its time.
Kalyna Review, which no longer exists, published that version in 2016. When I saw
Perspectives Magazine's call, the concept of telling the story in first instead of third person intrigued me, so it became "Ode
of a Buggy Whip".
