Romana Iorga is the author of the poetry collection Temporary Skin, forthcoming with Glass Lyre Press, and a chapbook entitled a woman made entirely of air, forthcoming with Dancing Girl Press. She was born in Chisinau, Moldova and earned a BA in Romanian and English Literature from the University of Bucharest and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Minnesota. She is also the author of two books of poetry in her native Romanian, Auz simplu (Semne Press, 2000) and Poemul sosirii (Glasul Press, 1996). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Nation, Lake Effect, New England Review, Salamander, RHINO, Gulf Coast, Redivider, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, EcoTheo Review, PANK, and elsewhere. She’s a Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee and currently scavenges for poems in the multilingual forests above Lausanne, Switzerland.
“This short poem I wrote many years ago may offer a clearer and more succinct insight into my life and work. One of its lines gave this blog its name. Twenty years later, I’m still mapping the nest.” ~ Romana Iorga
* * *
My life—
the nest of the swallow that left
in late fall, burdened
by our sorrows.
My life—
a wickerwork of clay and branches,
white flowers
quivering in the mud.
The shadow of a wing
fallen upon the house.
clayandbranches 