Gentle Grasp
By Laura Daniels
ISBN: 978-1639806638
Gentle Grasp boils with times past and passing time, as the opening poem counts, courts, and catalogs the many kinds of seconds that make up a life: “heavy second / fading second / Fighting to corral / to herd a second.” The poems that follow recount moments of life with sensitivity, grace, and humor.
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In the titular poem, “Gentle Grasp,” the beauty of a hanging raindrop is described in exquisite detail until it breaks from the bud, first “relinquishing, plummeting,” but then, thrillingly, “skydiving to the ground.” Every poem in the collection is beautiful and courageous, skydiving where others simply fall — Maggie Queeney, author of In Kind, winner of the 2022 Iowa Poetry Prize.
Gentle Grasp is a work of passion, sharing poetic musings of childhood through family times to the present, including opportunities to revisit the past and current years, through memories and subtle reflections. From lines that highlight the simple things in life, like keeping the power on or making soup on a wintery day, to deep-themed works where Daniel’s ‘heal writes,’ using kintsugi and finding ways to persevere through depression and loss, these poems give hope to readers by celebrating life’s milestones and pivotal moments — Ann E. Wallace, 2023-2024 Poet Laureate of Jersey City and author of Days of Grace and Silence: A Chronicle of COVID’s Long Haul (Kelsay Books, 2024)
Gentle Grasp is a work of passion, sharing poetic musings of childhood through family times to the present, including opportunities to revisit the past and current years, through memories and subtle reflections. From lines that highlight the simple things in life, like keeping the power on or making soup on a wintery day, to deep-themed works where Daniel’s ‘heal writes,’ using kintsugi and finding ways to persevere through depression and loss, these poems give hope to readers by celebrating life’s milestones and pivotal moments —
Cristy Watson, award-winning middle school and YA author, published poet, co-editor of
2022 Poetry Marathon Anthology, book editor for multiple authors, and writing workshop facilitator.
Six pieces taken from the book:
Anna/An Inventory
after Lauren Russell’s “Peggy/An Inventory”
She wears earplugs and plays a white noise machine to diffuse and quiet the air so she can better hear the thoughts stirring behind her pondering eyes. She has long blunt hair and a curvy figure, both developed and nurtured. She keeps her fingernails short and her toenails polished because that’s the perk provided by the shop where they’re trimmed. She uses her own expressive words: “re visioning” for edits, “chello” for cheery hello, and “co inside dance” for coincidence. She’s not a busybody when she looks out the window; she’s neighborhood-watching. She loves the sound wine makes when it’s first poured—glug, glug, glug— because happy sounds should be amplified. She finger waves to little ones who make eye contact on her daily morning walk around Warren Street. She watches for the Wren to sing in the warming weather. She wonders if it’s the same Wren returning each spring. She ruminates on whether it might be his son or brother or best friend. He (she knows it’s a male) looks and sounds the same each year. She speaks low from the belly to get attention. She speaks childlike to shine and lighten the air. She picks up her pen to heal write. She makes sense of her world through words. She writes to let out all that is contained but churning to be released.
Note: Anna/An Inventory centers around sound and how the character reacts to sound. It also explores making connections. Anna is an observer trying to move into a more open space. There is some push and pull within this piece.
Mighty Oak: A Haibun
At the edge of the property stood the mighty oak, next to the mighty oak stood the delicate cherry blossom tree, and next to the delicate cherry blossom tree stood the all-important house. The oak grew from a tiny acorn when the land was forested. The homeowner planted the cherry tree to celebrate moving into the house. The oak provided nuts and sheltering shade. The cherry tree provided pink-budded bursts, and its sour berries fed the birds. A problem arose in the all-important house—roots disemboweled its sewer line. The plumbing was cured, but the culprit had to be found. Whose roots caused the destruction? The homeowner investigated. A chief arborist was appointed. The cherry tree pleaded roots too delicate to penetrate a plumbing pipe. The oak claimed roots too deep. The chief arborist rendered his verdict. The sentence was death. A week later, the punishment was carried out. The homeowner sealed the all-important house windows to drown out the noise.
suffer the sinewy
his tubular toughness
cut short his life
Gentle Grasp
after morning rain droplet’s light is captured like a mirrored reflection hiding in the sun’s shadow
effervescent sighing gently
a perfect teardrop clinging to a bud
invisible delicate hold shimmering clean crystal clear clarity gasping, a delicate grasp
movement makes it tremble relinquishing, plummeting fading from sight
skydiving to the ground
Poem at Sixty
after Sonia Sanchez, “poem at thirty”
noontime
in New York eyes hairy
with the weight of the world. too tired
not to think
in cliques. no
cliché. whatever. too tired
to care. too tired
to bother. too tired to sleep.
once I slept
like a motherboard waking up
freshly restored
to factory specifications. that was before
my warranty expired. and
the factory recall. can they even find the part?
In the Morning
A shadow of illumination slivers
through the left corner of my blackout shades. What the heck? It can’t be morning already.
Further investigation is needed.
I tunnel out of my quilted cocoon.
My eyes unlatch, always a good thing. Oh, yeah, morning has erupted.
I lift my head like a slow-moving crane probing for the green digital numbers.
7:12 – not feeling that number, need to do better. Okay, let the games begin.
What is an appealing time to leave
my berth and venture into the latrine?
7:17 – a balanced number, still too soon.
7:20 – a tiny round orb, but too early for philosophy. 7:25 – two plus five, math is fun, but not yet.
I finally settled on 7:30 as today’s launching interval and wait patiently for the clock to catch up.
If I miss it, there’s always 7:33, I do love a double-digit.
Silence Speaks Volumes
after a long day of laundry and cooking the baby monitor finally falls silent
pressure I didn’t know I was holding, releases peace descends over the house like a cozy cashmere quilt, muting the television noise
I unwind into the surround sound of silence eyes unplug, shoulders descend, breath expands
ABOUT LAURA
Laura Daniels (she/her) is a neurodivergent multi-genre writer and editor of The Fringe 999 Poetry Forum. She has been curated in One Art, Journal of New Jersey Poets, Smarty Pants Magazine for Kids, and January 2024 featured poet for Poetry for Mental Health. In 2025. She received an Allen Ginsberg Poetry Honorable Mention Award for her poem, “Shore Roots”. She facilitates a free monthly online writing workshop through Mary's Place by the Sea for women who have been touched by cancer. Her book, Gentle Grasp (Kelsay Books), is available on Amazon, in local bookstores, and in public libraries. Her poems grow from a love of learning and New Jersey, where she lives with her partner in Mt Arlington, and works in the community garden growing berries. Look for her next poetry collection, Wayfinder, and chapbook, Savory Sweet Morsels, in 2026.
Social Media Links:
Laura Daniels, Writer website - https://lauradanielswriter.wordpress.com
The Fringe 999 Poetry Forum on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/399191694738673
The Fringe 999 Poetry Forum on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thefringe999
Gentle Grasp on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Gentle-Grasp-Laura-Daniels/dp/1639806636
Contact:
Email: laura_daniels_117@hotmail.com
Search ISBN: 978-1639806638 to order a copy via your country's Amazon store.