After my mother’s death, I found a letter from my brother describing how he imagined his suicide, which is exactly how it happened. My son overheard me talking about it and asked to read it. I’d just gotten a crown which fell out during the night. My head ached for days, from the tooth, from worry of whether letting my son read the letter was the right choice. This is how poems are born.

Mike Bove is the author of four books. He was a two-time finalist for a Maine Literary Award and won the 2021 Maine Postmark Poetry Contest. In 2024 he served as Writer-in-Residence at Acadia National Park. Mike is editor of Hole in the Head Review, and lives in Portland, Maine.

W: www.mikebove.com
I: @portlandbove