Project Description

Danielle

Originally from Michigan, Danielle Maisano is a novelist, poet and journalist currently residing in London. She has a BA in journalism from Detroit’s Wayne State University and has worked as a journalist in both print and broadcast. In 2011 she joined the United States Peace Corps and was based in Togo, West Africa for two years as an educator in Community Health.
In 2014 she received her MA in International Relations and Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Her debut novel, The Ardent Witness, was published by Victorina Press in 2019 and was an award-winning finalist for the 2019 International Book Awards fiction category.

I Used to Search For It

I used to search for it,
In the eyes of strangers.
A spark of hope,
A familiar danger.
I would poke and prod
At a glimpse of recognition.
And I found it in a few.
A small handful.
Maybe two.

Back booth dive bar kisses,
Who could say what they were worth?
And if they brought us any closer,
To a sense of some salvation,
Or just a little less alone
In a hollow bedroom
Here on earth.

We never found what we were after.
But at least it offered a brief reprieve
From a search that’s only ever led me
To the chaos of divine disaster.
But still I catch myself
From time to time,
Looking for the hint of a flame
That might match mine.

You’d think by now
I would have learned.