{"id":801,"date":"2023-11-16T13:17:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T18:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/?page_id=801"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:49:17","slug":"amber-pierson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/amber-pierson\/","title":{"rendered":"Amber Pierson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Distinguished Voices in Literature<\/span><\/h3>\n

Poetry Contest <\/strong>
\njudged by Benjamin Garcia, author of\u00a0Thrown in the Throat<\/em><\/p>\n

Winner<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
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is it selfish to mourn the loss of experiences?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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because I do.
\nof course I mourn your son,
\n—————————<\/span>my nephew.
\nin less than a month, he took our hearts
\nhow small his body was
\nand how gaping the space he\u2019s left behind.<\/p>\n

I mourn the first time he came back to you, his mother,
\nand told you the new word that auntie taught him
\nyour burbled laughter as he proudly cursed.<\/p>\n

the moment you call me,
\nvoice shaking over his first heartbreak.<\/p>\n

I mourn the relationship he and my son would have had.
\nthe bond, I know, I just know they would have had
\nand you and I reminiscing, once they became adults
\nabout how they became the better versions of us.<\/p>\n

I also mourn how you and I could have grown together
\nfrom being almost estranged
\nto sisters again,
\nto sisters who are mothers, growing with our sons.<\/p>\n

I mourn helping you change diapers
\nand laughing about the smell as I gag with each wipe.<\/p>\n

I mourn us watching our children at the park
\nas my son pushes yours in a swing
\niced coffees and lunchables packed
\nin my purple backpack.
\nour chiming laughter as we chase our children
\nour shoes kicking up a spray of woodchips
\ntheir fathers shaking their heads at our childlike love.<\/p>\n

I mourn girl days, where we go get something to eat
\nsitting in a quiet booth while the children torment their fathers.
\nI know the conversation would be all about them
\nour free moment turned into missing them
\nrushing home<\/p>\n

I mourn it all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

I’m Amber Pierson<\/strong> (she\/her). I like a good cup of coffee and sweets. When I’m not writing, you can find me curled up with a good book, adventuring with my son, and laughing with my husband.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Home<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Distinguished Voices in Literature Poetry Contest judged by Benjamin Garcia, author of\u00a0Thrown in the Throat Winner is it selfish to mourn the loss of experiences? because I do. of course I mourn your son, —————————my nephew. in less than a month, he took our hearts how small his body was and how gaping the space […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-801","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}