Christopher Stephen Soden

Christopher Stephen Soden received his MFA in Poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts in January of 2005. He teaches craft, theory, genre and literature. He writes poetry, plays, literary, film and theatre critique for sharpcritic.com and EdgeDallas.

Christopher’s poetry collection, Closer, was released by Rebel Satori Press on June 14th, 2011. He received a Full Fellowship to Lambda Literary's Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices in August 2010. His performance piece: Queer Anarchy received The Dallas Voice's Award for Best Stage Performance. Water and A Christmas Wish were staged at Bishop Arts and Every Day is Christmas. In Heaven at Nouveau 47.

Other honors include: Distinguished Poets of Dallas, Poetry Society of America's Poetry in Motion Series, Founding Member, President and President Emeritus of The Dallas Poets Community.

His work has appeared in: Rattle, The Cortland Review, 1111, Typishly, F(r)iction, G & L Review, Chelsea Station, Glitterwolf, Collective Brightness, A Face to Meet the Faces, Resilience, Ganymede Poets: One, Gay City 2, The Café Review, The Texas Observer, Sentence, Borderlands, Off the Rocks, The James White Review, The New Writer, Velvet Mafia, Poetry Super Highway, Gertrude, Touch of Eros, Gents, Bad Boys and Barbarians, Windy City Times, ArLiJo, Best Texas Writing 2.

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► Christopher's microchap & selected poems are available below. Download the single-page microchap by clicking the title.

Origami Microchap

bliss

Click on above title to download PDF microchap.

Christopher Stephen Soden CVR Bliss Dec 2018

Cover artwork by Lauri Burke

Every microchap

may be downloaded

for free

from this website.

(Set printer for landscape)

i know that i do not know

what is a flower then
an eruption of dazzling
violet against a pale
untainted sky a comfort
to those left behind
a seduction to hot buzz
of pollen collection and what
is milk a fat drop
of ecstasy infinite focus
to pink gurgle and squeal
of wobbly gobbly newborn
rich addition to rolling boil
of oats or potatoes or chocolate
slang for spunk raw
substance of tooth and bone
what is a kiss a rough urgent
brush a promise an obligation
a pathetic search for authenticity
or meaning what is the moon
a mockery of solitude your ache
evinced in radiant stone
an oracular witness to spell casting
silent companion to endless
disconsolate night what is song
courage in the maw of black terror
undiluted exuberance spilling a boat
to the river of dreams a coyote
searching for brothers and what am i
then but a fraud a monkey scaling
the altar naked lunatic painting
himself with blue stars begging
the father of all fathers for grace

●

bliss

o unashamed
squawk of jaybird magpie
urgent symphony
of morning traffic
chaotic montage
of forty three lime plum tangerine
neoglow posters torn ragged
shouting raucous vestiges
decadent vivid feast of refuse
for sleek tigerstripe toms
confetti sprawl of sugarblasted strawberry
cereal box gooey cream rancid butter granny
smith peelings sprouted shock of yellow
onions clamor of careless jazz scalds
murky air white waxed bag that once held
infinite yes of raspberry jam
doughnut sails october gust to tango
with wistful brilliance of frail kites
cacophony of fossil accordion
serenades your orphan heart
with achy homage to piaf
while snowbrowed abraham
hawks potato knishes and sweating
kosher dogs slathered in sweet
pickle relish your rugged rough
and tender sailorboy swaddled
in eternal night of navy
peacoat flies you to neptune
with a single unequivocal
kiss you are caramel
in his paws

●