Duke lalcrosse: The Poet of the Piedmont returns

The very talented Joan Foster, Poet of the Piedmont, has returned from her visit to Zeus and Olympus. She graces us today with a brief ode at Liestoppers on themes of loss, recovery and reunion.

In Foster’s work loss is of many types: merchandize at Hecht’s department story and DA Nifong impending loss of office. In a very bold gesture, Joan muses on what she sees as a loss of credibility at the Raleigh N&O.

The critics are sure to jump on her for that, and insist the N&O has no credibility. And maybe Joan did go a little too far in suggesting the N&O had any credibility to lose.

But Foster skillfully uses her suggestion of at least some N&O credibility to link to another of her themes: reunion. Foster’s ode title asks poignantly, “Melanie, have you missed me?”

Those familiar with Foster’s work will immediately know the “Melanie” in the title is the Raleigh N&O’s unbelievable exec editor for news, Melanie Sill, who is often a subject of Foster’s work

Sill regularly makes credibility claims for her paper. Foster takes those claims as the basis for reminding us how the N&O acted to lose the credibility it had gained from Neff’s story.

Foster thus intertwines her three themes: the N&O begins to recover a little lost credibility with Neff’s major story. Then it acted to cut the legs our from under the story based on a single dating error which didn’t change the main points of the story.

But that the N&O was gaining some small amount of credibility even for a brief while is no doubt what inspired Forster to develop her reunion theme. The poem ends with Foster promising to stay by Melanie and help her.

Let the critics scoff! I say, “Brilliant!”

Take a look and decide for yourself. The first three stanzas are here. The rest of it continues at Liestoppers. I’ve linked at the end of the three stanzas here.

“Melanie, have you missed me?”

Melanie, have you missed me
Whilst I was on the road
Did you scan the blog with longing eyes
For a familiar prod or goad?

So, girlfriend, what's been happening
Heard there was a small uproar
Are you and Neff still making rounds
On the"Mea Culpa" tour?

Methinks you doth protest too much
Neff has Nifong on the run
But, girl, practice those apologies...
"You've only just begun."

(The poem continues here. )