Procession of Martyrs by Emily Fernandez

The poems inside Emily Fernandez’s chapbook, Procession of Martyrs, hold a
haunting beauty, much like an old cemetery at sunset. The language and imagery the poet often employs make up a “veil of stars:” “I sent my caterpillars in/ and out of your mouth butterflies/ fluttered, yellow as sunflowers.” The poetry deftly considers weighty subjects, all the while grounding us readers on this Earth, “dust clouded the windshield,” and “needle skips on vinyl” and “your grizzled cheek melting into ground like discarded gum.” I was moved by the stories that wounded like jagged edge of broken glass against the skin. The poems “An Inheritance” and “Resuscitate” and the title poem were among my favorites, and stayed with me long after I finished reading her beautiful book.

–Devi S. Laskar, Author of Gas & Food, No Lodging (Finishing Line Press, 2017) and Anastasia Maps (Finishing Line Press, 2018)