Survival Instincts
by Samantha Terrell
“Samantha Terrell sees our world with sharper eyes than ours, the more intimate the detail, the more exquisite the revelation. In these lines, the writer’s hope becomes ours: “I want to write words worthy of being / chewed up and swallowed– / clutched in fistfuls / like purple phlox from / roadside ditches.” Even childish hope inspired by a rabbit’s foot is examined: “soft silk fur in my small hand may not have brought actual luck, but reminded me it might,” yet “I recall nubbins of rabbit claw lay nestled beneath the softness of hope.” The writer’s experience is continually explored in greater detail, and the truth she sees is often surprising enough to be shocking: “where you’re dying/ by the ocean, // your dogs run / on the beach unawares.” And when we look to the stars for answers, she startles and reminds us that at the same time “occasionally, clusters of words point to something.” That is a great insight for writers and readers of poems, and on every occasion, Samantha Terrell’s work asks us to look more closely and always provides a deeper meaning when we do.”
— Eric Paul Shaffer, author of Even Further West
About the author:
Samantha Terrell is a self-taught poet who resides in Upstate New York with her husband and two sons. Terrell’s poems have been anthologized in publications such as Door=Jar, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Red Ogre Review, The Orchards Poetry Journal, and more. Her most recent collection, Delta Function, was published by Alien Buddha Press. Terrell was the recipient of a 2024, Poets & Writers grant in conjunction with NYSCA and Broome County Arts Council. She serves as curator ofSHINE international poetry series. Find her online at: www.SamanthaTerrell.com.
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