"We Are Not Lovers..."
by Lani Hankins
We are not lovers No, no We've drifted too far Even as friends The twine is unraveling And partners, Well… Something we've never been Should goodbye really be All that difficult?
Lani Hankins is a former Army female engagement team member and a veteran of Afghanistan. Follow her here. Listen to the Savage Wonder episode with her here.
She blogs and podcasts at Kruse Corner.
Bunny: Poems About Surviving Military Life by Lani Hankins
Bottled Away: Confessions of a Struggling Veteran by Lani Hankins
The Gaslit Heart: A Story of Service and Survival by Lani Hankins
Eased Pain: Poems About Surviving Domestic Violence by Lani Hankins
This week on the Savage Wonder podcast…
This is one of those conversations I won't forget easily. I spoke the unbelievably honest, vulnerable and thoughtful Leilani Squire about her childhood as a Navy brat during the Korean War, her deep dive into nefarious activities during her early adulthood, her iron-willed classical dance training, and, ultimately, her highly disciplined and inspiring writing career as a poet and playwright.
Leilani is the winner of our inaugural 10-minute playwriting competition. About her play 15 DEAD SOULS, the judges said it was “poetic, touching, powerfully written. Earnest — which is good — but also not sentimental. Haunting and affecting.”
Leilani Squire is a writer, certified creativity coach, and works with active duty, veterans and their families to help them tell their stories through the written word. She is founder and CEO of the nonprofit Returning Soldiers Speak and an associate member of EST/LA where she is also part of their playwrighting unit.
Follow her here.