This is the first poem I’ve written in more than 15 years. I wrote it for a poetry workshop I’m taking at UNLV, as a graduate assistant in the MFA creative writing program. (My concentration is fiction, but we have to take some poetry classes, too.) The theme of the workshop is the “immediately accessible sublime” or, as I simply interpret it, that which is near and dear.

This is the second draft. The teacher Donald Revell and my remarkably talented classmates provided plenty of feedback, a lot of which I incorporated into the poem.

Standing on the sidewalk

Screaming

Half English, half Farsi

Her refuge

Shattered

Interior lights on

Porch light off

The door splintered and ajar

Faceplate and screws

Sprawled across the floor

The scene is secured

Doors and drawers dusted

She enters

Past a palm print black on white

In the squad car

The officer asks questions

Despondent she responds

He pecks an antiquated computer

While reading aloud

“The victim stated that the jewelry

Was given to her

By her grandmother in Iran”

They leave us alone

Noticing a painting

She no longer likes

She observes

They never take what you want them to

With ink-stained hands

We push the suddenly mobile

Media center

Against the door

Drag the mattress into the living room

Everyone’s a suspect

The neighbor, the FedEx guy, the security guard

Finally a kiss good night

Then with all the lights on

We lie down and act like we’re asleep

As some of you know, my first (and only) fulltime journalism job was with Las Vegas CityLife. After freelancing for the well-rounded alt-weekly for two years, I was hired as a staff writer in early 2000.  I spent eight years at the paper, including three as managing editor, and it proved to be an amazing and defining experience.

Sadly, CityLife  recently stopped publishing. I don’t have the time or inclination to perform a proper autopsy (I’m teaching, taking graduate courses, freelancing, etc., and, over the past several years, I lost touch with the paper), but several other people have weighed in on its demise. Here are four pieces on the subject, three of which include my thoughts or info about my time there. If you only read one of them, I highly recommend the last link (a meditative, metaphoric column by Chip Mosher that doesn’t directly mention the paper’s passing).

Here is Huntington Press’ annual holiday catalog. Beneath the Neon is selling for $14.96 and My Week at the Blue Angel $11.21.

Some well deserved recognition for Beneath the Neon photographer Danny Mollohan, from the local PBS station (scroll through the slideshow on the second row to find the feature). Congrats, Danny!

Apparently, the full episodes of the “Dr. Phil” shows are not available online. However, they did post summaries of the shows on the official website. This first one (below) focuses on the tunnels and a couple’s life down there. The second focuses on the woman, Cyndi, and her four daughters, as they reunite in the studio.

I still have not seen the episodes, but, judging by the summaries, they’re pretty moving. Here you go:

Thanks to everyone who bought my book Beneath the Neon today (after it was featured on “Dr. Phil”). It’s currently the third-best-selling “Travel Writing” book on Amazon.com, behind Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.

A notice from the Nevada Homeless Alliance:

Family Connect is an annual resource fair for homeless or low-income families living in Southern Nevada. The 2013 event, scheduled for May 15th at the East Las Vegas Community Senior Center, will see upwards of 300 families with children, and include the participation of over 50 service organizations. Prior to exiting the event, each family is escorted through the Giveaways Section to obtain food and personal care items that may be difficult for them to obtain without assistance. Please see below list of items needed for this section. All items should be new or gently used only.

Children’s summer clothing, hats and shoes

Adult’s summer clothing, hats and shoes

Toys

Packaged Underwear

Blankets/sheets/comforters

First Aid Kits

Diapers/formula

Canned food

Bus Tickets-Day Use for RTC buses

Shampoos/Conditioners

Brushes/Combs

Soaps/Hand Sanitizers

Toothbrushes/Toothpastes

Feminine Hygiene

Sun Screen/Lotion

Please contact Michele Smith for drop-off and pick-up information. Email: fortheleastofthese@cox.net Phone: 702-324-6850.

*Please allow 24 hours for a return call or email

**Contributions to the Nevada Homeless Alliance are tax deductible as provided by law. If you have any questions about the value of your contribution, kindly contact your tax advisor. For donation receipts, please contact Stacy Sutton with the Nevada Homeless Alliance at NHAvoice@aol.com, or by calling 702-743-1487.

I was recently named a board member of the Nevada Homeless Alliance, a nonprofit organization that helps the homeless by creating partnerships and promoting collaboration between service providers. My responsibilities include making sure the NHA remains focused on its mission, serving as an ambassador for the nonprofit and the homeless, and raising funds and awareness. Of course, I’m particularly interested in helping the people in the underground flood channels.

A lot of you have expressed interest in helping the hundreds of people in the tunnels and the thousands of other homeless in the valley. In this new role, I should have more answers, suggestions and opportunities for you.

Stay tuned!

A long but worthwhile radio piece on the tunnels courtesy of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: