{"id":5996,"date":"2015-03-04T20:06:42","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T20:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=5996&post_type=story"},"modified":"2025-04-10T13:03:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T13:03:06","slug":"trouble-in-paradise","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/","title":{"rendered":"Trouble in Paradise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring 2015<\/em><\/p>\n

[photo id=”6211″ title=”Woodpecker-by-Matt-Saunders” alt=”Woodpecker-by-Matt-Saunders” position=”right” width=”339px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

I. Open Curtain<\/h2>\n

These blinds are always open. In their veins
\nFlorida is filled with grass like a tiled
\ngreen journal dotted with moss and pine
\nneedles that have fallen during the rains.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing to say about her. She stains
\nmy garden with an unlived story, glides
\nfrom a past to our present; her words hide
\nbeneath leaves. I am jealous. But I\u2019ll hang<\/p>\n

on like the sun in the summer solstice,
\nlike saw palmetto buried in the woods \u2014
\na woodpecker that clings to the hollow<\/p>\n

tree. Can\u2019t he see that she is a temptress
\ninstead of an ancient and cherished book?
\nShe\u2019s a room filled with poems I\u2019ll never know.<\/p>\n

II. The Setting in the Trees<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a room filled with poems she\u2019ll never know:
\nFlorida polished green, its vines and shrubs,
\nburgundy toenails that I use to grab
\nhis back on our bed. Birds out the windows.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll never be part of a saw palmetto
\nthat cannot, with twenty shovels, be budged
\nnor has she stood with him at dusk on mud
\nflats, watching geese that left behind the snow.<\/p>\n

He brought back to me a soft roseate
\nspoonbill feather from the marsh, a bouquet
\nof weeds from the roadside of his hometown.<\/p>\n

We found a box, and in it, clothes that fit
\nus, we dipped our fingers into red paint,
\nwe were no longer pots turned upside down.<\/p>\n

III. The Dance<\/h2>\n

There was no need to turn pots upside down;
\ninstead at my window, I watched, each day
\nan oak grow, then lean, still holding blue jays,
\nand moss winked at a mating pair of owls.<\/p>\n

From our second story bedroom, the brown
\nworld is a letter to not throw away,
\nand he is the warbler ready for play \u2014
\nI\u2019ll be the wren hoping that my new sound<\/p>\n

will last beyond the boardwalk over scrub
\nand beyond the pine trees that ache to crawl
\ntoward the sky. I could become a dirt road,<\/p>\n

or an emerald fish in an open tub,
\nor lie beneath the wild camphor tree. I\u2019ll
\ndance with him. Hold hands, even when we\u2019re old.<\/p>\n

IV. Final Scene<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ll dance, hold his hand, even when we\u2019re old
\nwaiting in line at the store to buy cookies and milk.
\nThe arbor we built years before will
\nbe rotting. The bougainvillea, its bold<\/p>\n

leaves of red, its white stamen, will have lulled
\nthe pine tree to remain with us, but still
\nthe gardenia never blossomed. To kill
\nit, I mixed its dirt with women who called<\/p>\n

and I threw them out. I am the one in charge
\nof this garden. Here were tears, oak trees fell
\nand some flowers died. There will be no more<\/p>\n

to say about intruders to our yard.
\nWe\u2019ll enclose the back porch. The only bell:
\nwoodpeckers tapping words on our front door.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

From<\/em> The Terrible Wife, copyright \u00a92013 Terry Ann Thaxton. Reprinted by permission of Salt Publishing.<\/em><\/p>\n

Terry Ann Thaxton is an associate professor and the director of the M.F.A. in creative writing program in the Department of English. This poem appears in The Terrible Wife<\/em>, which was awarded the 2013 Florida Book Award in Poetry bronze medal. Her first book of poems, Getaway Girl<\/em>, won the 18th Annual Frederick Morgan Poetry Prize in 2011. She has also written a textbook,<\/em> Creative Writing in the Community: A Guide.<\/p>\n

Illustration by Matt Saunders<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6199,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[341],"class_list":["post-5996","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-college-of-arts-and-humanities","issues-520","issues-spring-2015"],"yoast_head":"\nTrouble in Paradise by Terry Ann Thaxton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Poetry from 2013 Florida Book Award winner The Terrible Wife by the UCF associate professor and creative writing M.F.A. program director\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trouble in Paradise\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Poetry from 2013 Florida Book Award winner The Terrible Wife by the UCF associate professor and creative writing M.F.A. program director\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pegasus Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-10T13:03:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/02\/THUMBNAIL_SPRING2015_poem-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"230\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UCF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/\",\"name\":\"Trouble in Paradise by Terry Ann Thaxton\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/THUMBNAIL_SPRING2015_poem-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-04T20:06:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-10T13:03:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"Poetry from 2013 Florida Book Award winner The Terrible Wife by the UCF associate professor and creative writing M.F.A. program director\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/THUMBNAIL_SPRING2015_poem-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/THUMBNAIL_SPRING2015_poem-2.jpg\",\"width\":220,\"height\":230},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trouble in Paradise\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pegasus Magazine\",\"description\":\"The Magazine of Å®ÆÍAV\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/trouble-in-paradise\\\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"Å®ÆÍAV\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trouble in Paradise by Terry Ann Thaxton","description":"Poetry from 2013 Florida Book Award winner The Terrible Wife by the UCF associate professor and creative writing M.F.A. program director","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trouble in Paradise","og_description":"Poetry from 2013 Florida Book Award winner The Terrible Wife by the UCF associate professor and creative writing M.F.A. program director","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/","og_site_name":"Pegasus Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF","article_modified_time":"2025-04-10T13:03:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":220,"height":230,"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/02\/THUMBNAIL_SPRING2015_poem-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@UCF","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/","name":"Trouble in Paradise by Terry Ann Thaxton","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/02\/THUMBNAIL_SPRING2015_poem-2.jpg","datePublished":"2015-03-04T20:06:42+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-10T13:03:06+00:00","description":"Poetry from 2013 Florida Book Award winner The Terrible Wife by the UCF associate professor and creative writing M.F.A. program director","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/02\/THUMBNAIL_SPRING2015_poem-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/02\/THUMBNAIL_SPRING2015_poem-2.jpg","width":220,"height":230},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trouble in Paradise"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/","name":"Pegasus Magazine","description":"The Magazine of Å®ÆÍAV","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/trouble-in-paradise\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"Å®ÆÍAV"}]}},"acf":[],"story_subtitle":"A poem by Terry Ann Thaxton, associate professor of creative writing ","story_description":"<em>A poem by Terry Ann Thaxton, associate professor of creative writing<\/em> ","story_thumbnail":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/5996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/5996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25722,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/5996\/revisions\/25722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}