Felicia Mitchell
Felicia Mitchell, a native of South Carolina, has made her home in the mountains of southwest Virginia since 1987. She taught English and creative writing at Emory & Henry College until her retirement in 2020. Her poems appear widely in journals and anthologies, and she is the author of A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens: Journeying Together WIth Dementia (Wising Up Press, 2022) and Waltzing with Horses (Press 53, 2014), collections of poems. In addition to poetry, she has written scholarly works and shared creative nonfiction in newspapers and other publications. Some of her columns on experiences with cancer published in Cure Today have been reprinted internationally.
Felicia is currently working on book projects, teaching workshops, and judging contests as called on. Ask her to help with something! Visit her website to read samples of writing and to learn more.
A 2024 reading goal is to read a book of poems each week. We will see how that goes!
“Almost EasterShaking bone mealfrom my bare handsinto the rose bedwhere only one bush grows,I feel as if I’m scatteringmy father’s ashesall over again.This month marksthe seventh yearmy father has lainin my garden,his ashes in my handsstill as palpableas bone meal or thorns.Easter Sunday,I will hide an eggbehind his ear.Jesus will call down to himto get up and play.He won’t.But the rose bushthat is turning green,this rose will sink its rootsa little deeper in the earthand in a few monthsdrop its petalslike so many red tears.— Felicia Mitchell”