Childproof Sky is a 22-poem, 31-page chapbook about the loss of a daughter and covers grief, sadness, resilience, love, and hope.

Childproof Sky

Trapper Markelz (he/him) writes from Arlington, Massachusetts. He is the author of the chapbook Childproof Sky, a Cherry Dress Chapbooks 2023 selection. His work has appeared in the journals Baltimore Review, Stillwater Review, Wild Roof Journal, Greensboro Review, and Passengers Journal, among others. Learn more at trappermarkelz.com

Primary

Trapper Markelz (he/him) was born in Alaska, graduated from The Rochester Institute of Technology and Harvard Business School, and lives in Arlington, MA in the Boston area with his wife Maureen and four children Hannah, Lucy, Jack, and Alice. His work has been published in Baltimore Review, Stillwater Review, Wild Roof Journal, Greensboro Review, and Passengers Journal, among others. Childproof Sky (a 2023 Cherrydress Chapbook selection) is his first poetry book publication. You can learn more about Trapper, his life, and works at trappermarkelz.com

Book Bio

The alarm clock announces 

your number, each morning—

so does your boss, so does your bank account. 

I'm Alive and So Are You

Demons Everywhere

Our calendars begin in the wrong spot. 
They should start and end with the first snow,

First Snow

Each strand is carefully selected,
like a husband building an apology bouquet
in a flower shop; gold roses with baby’s breath.

Snow-Colored Home

What might I give

for a fossil footprint secure in the desert

or a stretch of tar sand to hold me for infinity?

Glass Coffin

I put my arms around my family
in the Christmas photo.

Rich People

Take the hole in the ground & fill it with your ending

Negative Land

At the center
stands a photo of a young boy, the name Cicero
scrawled on rain stained paper in purple marker. 

Trapper Markelz

Books

Selected work