CHRIS SHIPMAN received his BA in English at Arkansas State University in May of 2006.  He is now pursuing an MFA degree in creative writing for poetry at Louisiana State University.  His work has been said to be strongly narrative, lyrical, and imagistic, taking on many different themes and personas.  He spends much of his time reading and writing poetry, and enjoys knowing that his work as well as the world of poetry, like the world around him, is constantly changing.  The poem printed here is his first publication outside of his undergraduate career.