Francis Raven

Priors

before she accepted the job; before we were preapproved for the
mortgage; before we knew the city where we would live, where we
would have children; before the iPod; before we knew about Ikea;
before exurbia; before the Internet; before she studied economics;
before the election; before we joined the Y; before ‘hanging chads,’
‘quagmire,’ and ‘neocon’; before she took Tums; before I knew how
to ride a bike; before Katrina; before I stopped drinking; before we
could observe our own historical moment; before teenagers
stopped dropping acid; before the last resurgence; before granite
countertops; before the OC; before nostalgia; before I saw her
sitting; before, what were we thinking
before?

CP

Francis Raven has published three volumes of poetry: Provisions ( 2009), Shifting the Question More Complicated (2007) and Taste: Gastronomic Poems (2005) as well as a novel, Inverted Curvatures. He lives in Washington, DC, and more of his work can be found here.