Harshman’s collections of poetry include WOMAN IN RED ANORAK, winner of the Blue Lynx Prize, BELIEVE WHAT YOU CAN, winner of the Weatherford Award, and FOLLOWING THE SILENCE, Press 53. DISPATCH FROM THE MOUNTAIN STATE has just been published by West Virginia University Press and includes the poem, "Black and White." He was recently named Appalachian Heritage Writer for 2024 by Shepherd University. He is also the author of fourteen nationally acclaimed children’s books including FALLINGWATER: THE BUILDING OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S MASTERPIECE [co-author, Anna Smucker] published by Roaring Brook/Macmillan. It was subsequently named an Amazon Book of the Month. He has been Poet Laureate of West Virginia since 2012.
BLACK AND WHITE
BLACK AND WHITE The rabbit lawn on the north side, between the railroad tracks and highway, is deserted but for these five blackbirds and a limp fence of yellow tape.The boy in jeans lay spread-eagled on the asphalt, unblinking when the sun first stepped between the bright clouds. I began to write that I still …