Forces: Poems

WORDS OF STRENGTH, PEACE, AND INSPIRATION FOR MILITARY FAMILIES—AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM!

Inspired by great works of visual art, writing, and sculpture—as well as small moments observed alongside her home-schooled daughter and beloved dog Seamus—poet and U.S. Marine Corps spouse Lisa Stice explores the invisible forces and frictions at work in our lives.

“Stice is a master of quiet revelation and connection,” says the publisher. “Her words illuminate how to find beauty, wonder, calm, and strength in a world that too often feels filled with ugliness and chaos.”

For example, in “Woman Holding a Balance,” Stice considers the image of Johannes Vermeer’s 1664 painting of the same name, revealing the grounded strength within:

behind her:
a healing grace
the salvation of forgiveness
promise and sacrifice

before her:
value weighed
an equal measure
dignity and decorum

within her:
blood of generations
nurturing warmth
a round-cheeked future

And, in “While Daddy’s at Training, Our Daughter Asks Questions”:

I don’t know how to explain 35,000 feet—
all I can say is it’s very high—yes, far above
our house and those trees, but no, not beyond
the moon or the stars—and how far are those?
but I don’t know how to explain that either.

When will he be back?—so I count the days,
point to them on the calendar—what is it like
in the sky?—I say I know it’s cold and difficult
to breathe, but I don’t know how to explain
50 below or the partial pressure of oxygen.

She pretends to be an airplane—can I skydive?—
and I say when you are much older, but I don’t
know if I’d want her to—she counts backwards
then jumps her couple inches—and my heart
rises before it falls back into place again.