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Rich Murphy’s collections Susan Constant by Cyberwit and Inside Stories by Resource Publications at Wipf and Stock were published in 2024. First Aid and Footholds were published in 2023 by Resource Publications and Cyberwit. Meme Measure, was published by Resource Publications in 2022. His poetry has won The Poetry Prize at Press Americana twice for Americana (2013) and The Left Behind (2021) and Gival Press Poetry Prize for Voyeur (2008). Space Craft by Resource Publications also came out in 2021. Books Prophet Voice Now, essays by Common Ground Research Network and Practitioner Joy, poetry by Resource Publications were published in 2020. He has published nine other collections of poetry.

Forgetting About It

Rich Murphy

Shifting baseline amnesia
begins with “good riddance”
muttered by the young
who riddle with cognitive quizzes
old feet on new terrain
that in response have nothing
to offer to justify remaining.
Routine moments celebrate
to patch for a tradition.
Personal stories plumb as historic,
and Custom Salvage sets down
a dumpster for attic and garage,
Nostalgic seizures that once seized
a brooch mother once wore embed
among a landfill mountain range.
An anthropologist apologizes
for the long wait on archeology
that defines for some future slouch
memorizing generations
that buried each other one-by-one.

— Rich Murphy

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