The Second O of Sorrow

Press Release October 27, 2015

Sean by lakeERIE PA– Poet Sean Thomas Dougherty is happy to announce that his 14th book and his 11th book of poetry (yes you are reading that correctly) titled The SECOND O OF SORROW has been contracted for publication in 2018 by BOA Editions of Rochester, NY. This will be Dougherty’s 4th book with BOA.

The impending publication of this book was announced today in a special ceremony at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. Dougherty told a small crowd of his daughters, some lazy geese, a crow, and some old fisherman, I got my book accepted, I think you are in it. One fisherman named Hal said, what you get for that? Dougherty said, not much, but if I get anything I give you a cut. Hal said, well maybe someone will read it and I will get famous for doing nothing because the perch are hiding today. What is this book really about?

And Dougherty said, mostly my wife trying to stay alive, and my daughters, see them over there, and just trying to make it. You know work and stuff. Trying to live. And this bay. And us fishing, And the hole’s in the ice, how deep they are. And this sky.

And Hal looked over the bay and the wind at the refinery trailing a thin line of smoke. And the gravel freighter pulling out to leave for the great lake. Then said, my wife died of Emphysema. It took a while. Sometimes I think she is out here with me. My girls say she is. Dougherty said they stood there for a long time and then he said, I think that’s where all poems come from, the dead speaking to us, the living. Hal nodded and kept fishing.

12143319_10154271478263502_4929859447433189009_nThen Dougherty’s daughters picked up sticks. He had his signed contract in his left pocket. He had the other contract he made with Death in his right one. Even now if you listen, you can hear the wind whipping off Lake Erie, and always underneath it that great voice riding the white caps, saying to us all, too soon…