Poetry Mail Bag

In the mail today - The Motherload of Poetry

One Poetry Journal, four poetry books/chapbooks and one poetry CD.

More to come as I dive into these....

Susan Rich On Her Most Recent Book - Cloud Pharmacy

Interviewed in April 2014

Susan Rich is the author of four collections of poetry and her most recent titled Cloud Pharmacy, published by White Pine Press came out last month. Susan’s work is not new to me as I've read two of her previous works, Alchemist’s Kitchen and Cures Include Travel. She has won the PEN USA Award for The Cartographer’s Tongue (2000). The Alchemist’s Kitchen (2010) won the Washington State Book Award and was a finalist for The ForeWord Book of the Year Prize in Poetry.

MAW: Susan it’s kind of you to talk with me about your newly released Cloud Pharmacy.  As I read this book I felt you were pushing and expanding your poetic horizon for readers.  I’m interested in role that Hannah Maynard played in this book. Can you tell us a little about how this came about and what it meant to this collection of poetry?

SR: I met Hannah Maynard, or rather her work, in the William James Bookshop in Port Townsend. It was Thanksgiving weekend and I was enjoying a day of wandering Water Street – the main artery of the town. The photography section is small but well curated and there are often things that catch my attention. That day it was Magic Box: The Eccentric Genius of Hannah Maynard (1834-1918). On the cover a replica of a sepia toned self-portrait held me rapt. There were three different Hannah’s in this piece: one leaning out of a picture frame, and pouring tea on another Hannah’s head. The third Hannah looked right out at me.

It took more than two years before I found a way into these proto-surreal pieces, work so startling can leave little room to improvise. I was stymied. It wasn't until I wrote a grant to work on a sequence of Hannah Maynard poems that the project began to cohere. I told myself if I won the grant, I would find a way to inside these self-portraits; otherwise, I would quit. Fortunately, I was awarded the grant. This meant I had to really push my abilities to create something I felt was worthy of Maynard’s genius. I needed new approaches to writing poetry; the old ways were no longer enough. What I found was a latent love of the surreal. Not in the vein of the 1920’s Parisian surrealists, but this new found private invention that married surreal images with intense emotional content. During the six years Maynard created these self portraits, two of her daughters died. It doesn't seem too farfetched to see these portraits as an express response to grief.

MAW:  I could not help but notice the words alchemically speaking in the title poem Cloud Pharmacy. Given your repetitious use of alchemist between two of your poetry collections I have to wonder if you don’t feel as a poet you have to practice a bit of such chemistry to arrive at  your destination as a writer. Can you tell us about the connection between your writing and alchemy?

SR: When I was a Senior in high school I read, no I devoured, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabrielle Garcia Marquez. I was in love with his imagination. This novel was like nothing I had encountered before. The part of the book I remember best was the story of the alchemists. This sense that men mixed potions not only to find the recipe for gold but also to further their knowledge of themselves appealed to me – a sense of inner and outer discoveries paired together.

Only with Garcia Marquez’s recent death did I make this connection back to my first encounter with alchemists. So I don’t claim that poetry is the only alchemy --- I believe it is the work of many writers --- as well as visual artists and musicians.

MAW: One of my favorite poems is the one titled, Invention of Everything Else.  You have used color a good deal in this book and blue seems to pop up frequently. I’m interested in the usage of the blue at the end of this poem.   Can you expand on this?

Actually blue is a touchstone word for me. Before I sent Cloud Pharmacy to Dennis at White Pine Press I needed to remove many of the blues from different poems. Sometimes it turned into yellow or green, other times I took the adjective out altogether. Color is an effective way to help a reader visualize a “yellowed cup” or “blue grass.”

I think my interest in ekphrastic poetry may have triggered my use of color in some of these poems. I teach several Film Studies courses and the idea of a colorful image is perhaps connected to the cinematic approach. It’s hard for me to say.

MAW: I know that you are a part of the Seattle area (tribe) poets, an area that seems to have no dearth of poetry talent, and yet this book as well as others by you seem to have a very expansive universe. I almost think of you as poet without borders.  Do you feel that way?  How has life experience informed this view?

Thank you, Michael, I will take that as a compliment. Of course it also means that my roots are not especially deep – although I've now called Seattle, WA home for 15 years.  In many ways I do feel a real part of the poetry community here. I've created organizations such as BookLift  which allows women authors to help “lift” up each others books. I've been an editor at Floating Bridge Press and I’m the co-founder with Kelli Russell Agodon of Poets on the Coast: A Writing Retreat for Women.

MAW: Susan, I’m re-reading Cloud Pharmacy for the third time. Things seem to unveil themselves (if I can use personification here) with each reading. I would recommend this book to anyone but especially those with any interest in the Arts.  Since all three of the books of yours that I have read have been extraordinary can I ask what we might look for next? Any there projects in the works?

Thanks for asking! I've been spending most of my time doing readings and celebrating National Poetry Month at Highline College where I teach. It’s the curse of the poet with a new book to feel she will never again be back at the desk, writing. Having said that, I do have a few new poems out in the world. My interest in the surreal and in photography continues. Really, it’s a bit early to know but I will be grateful for a new project when it appears.

MAW:  Thank you so much Susan for taking the time for this interview and for all your poetry that has been so enriching.


Cloud Pharmacy is available from White Pine Press or Amazon

Visit Susan's Home Page 

Visit Susan's Blog

Susan on Twitter

Confession Tuesday - Waiting 296 Days for Rejection

Dear Reader:

It's been a week of rejection letters (from two journals to be exact), communicating with Anne Sexton, of giving away poetry books (2)  and numerous broadsides, of winning several books in return, and a couple days with extra dogs in the home since my last confession.

I think I have a pretty good attitude about rejection letters. This in fact may be the easiest form of rejection for me to deal with. I have a rationalization about it that goes like this:  To get things published you have to send work out. When you do that two things can happen. You can get rejected or you can have your work accepted and published but in order for that to happen you MUST risk the rejection. So I generally shrug off rejections as a necessary part of the game. A necessary evil, an occupational hazard. you don't want to be rejected, don't submit, or don't even write. I confess that now writing would be harder then submitting  ever is for me. But back to this week.  One of my rejections was 296 days in the making. Five pieces rejected in one swoop. One very long  awaited - hell, I gave up on hearing from them swoop. The funny thing is two of them have already been published elsewhere and it had been so long that  I had given up on this venue and I confess I did not  notify them to withdraw the two pieces. Frankly, I was no longer holding my breath since blue is not my best color.

There is what I call a good rejection letter. The second one fell into this category. In it the editor write, "I enjoyed it all, and particularly liked 'xxxxxx'  and 'xxxxxxx,' but unfortunately neither fit the theme of our upcoming issue."If the editor takes the time to acknowledge something about  one or more of your poems you know that you work has hope and that you are not off track and two states away. So now I confess that things are looking up because you have to get rejections if you are going to get acceptances.

If only life itself was this simple. I do have a less thick skin when it comes to others forms of rejection. I'm probably no different then the next person when they have been excluded from something of interest or not considered for a position, or  picked for a team. These things do drag me down and I don't deny it.

About Anne Sexton... no I haven't been conducting a seance. Anne and I have had a bit of a special relationship for some time now because she is my dead poet mentor. Before you laugh I suggest if you write you should find a dead writer mentor as well. I confess that at times I've gone to my bookcase and pulled off a copy of her complete poems and asked what would Anne do when confronted with a writing problem.
This past week she was the Poet Tarot card that  came to me and I felt she actually understood some of my recent trials and tribulations. I confess this was a but different because this week I felt like she came to me as opposed to me seeking her out.

National Poetry month seemed very busy to me and I don't for one minute feel bad that it's over. Still, it was a good month. Lots of poetry shared and a poem written every day. I confess that these are not my best works but some of them may be reshaped into something that  has a life.  I was very glad I participated in giving away two books this year in the Annual Poetry Book Give Away.  When I notified the winners, each truly seemed excited. The books went in the mail yesterday and I'm hopeful that each winner enjoys the books selected as well as I have.

I confess, I've lost count of how many books I won this year but will update you one them as they arrive and I read them. Still, I feel most blessed by the sharing of poetry this year. The two books I offered in the drawing and the many broadsides that I have sent out or handed out at readings during the month of April.


Amen~

The Sun has come out to play...

The sun (if I remember correctly) is screaming through my studio blinds. I'm having  eggs and maple flavored sausage for breakfast while I ponder the very busy day ahead....

• mow the yard
• do a newsletter
• the normal Submission Saturday duty
• get mail to post office
• tread mill 
• write
• think about what to do with all my free time  ;-)

May Day - May Day, We have Winners!

The 2014 Big Poetry Give-a-way is now over.  I had 16 people enter the drawing for one of two great books!

• Unmentionables by Beth Ann Fennelly
• Saint Monica by Mary Biddinger

These  two books are among some of my very favorite poetry collection by real live modern day poets that if you pinch them they will say, "Ouch!" (in other words these are living poets)

A brand new shinny copy of both books was just delivered to my door  yesterday (great timing) from Amazon. 

I put the slips of paper into a hat (a San Francisco Giants baseball cap to be exact) and drew each name assigning it a number in order drawn. Then I used the random number selector on line to pick numbers a number 1-16. The first one was Marianne Mersereau  who  will receive Saint Moninca by Mary Biddinger. I then repeated the same process. If the same number were to come up in the randomizer I was prepared to run it again to assure we had two separate winners but this was not necessary as the second draw matched the name Andrea Beltran. Andrea gets the copy of Unmentionables by Beth Ann Fennelly. Congratulations to both of you! I will be emailing both winners tonight. I will need them to respond with the address they wish their  book sent.

It was really nice seeing  new people come by the my blog. I wish I could send each a book but those who entered and did not win, if they would like to e-mail me their snail mail address I will be happy to mail each one a Poetry Month  Limited Edition Broadside with one of  my previously published poems.

Thanks to everyone for participating. And a special thanks to Kelli Russell Agodon who master minded this event 5 years ago. It has grown and become as much a part of April as Poem-A-Challenge, or Poem in Your Pocket Day.

I will be mailing  both books within the next couple of days. 

Confession Tuesday - Saints Edition

Dear Reader:  It's been two new saints, yet another 7 daily poems, another drop into the cooler regions of the thermometer and a week since my last confession.

It's been rainy the last few days here and tonight it's not only yucky wet but cold as well. I've heard our temperatures are anticipated to drop somewhere between 37 and 41 for the low tonight.  I confess that is not the picture I envision goes with the green that is popping up all over and the Tulips and Iris buds, etc.

If this cooler then normal weather is not bad enough, the crop of deadly twisters cropping up in  Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia is leaving  real paths of  destruction through the Midwest and southern  states.Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma I expect this in because I've always considered this tornado alley. Georgia and Alabama have had some really  bad ones the last couple of years but I don't  recall in the past that such weather was as prevalent there. Perhaps I've just never noticed it, but my thoughts and prayers the last two nights have been with those I know that live in those two states.

Poem-A-Day is coming to an end.  I confess I'm glad in a way.  I generally write daily so that aspect is not a big deal... but I've been going to one source for prompts and sometimes I just get a little rebellious about prompts. I'm not a happy with the stuff I've written this month as compared to past years. I'm hopeful that May will bloom with  lots of really  good work!

With the canonization of  two Popes as Saints  this past Sunday ( Pope John XXIII and John Paul II )  it suddenly reminded me that  some years back on of my daughters gave a a St. David medal  - the patron saint of writers and poets. Funny that this just cropped back up in my mind.  David is also the patron saint of Wales. Given the number of Welch poets I suppose this should not be a surprising  coincidence. I confess that I'm always interested in patron saints. I suppose it's because I like a good story and they are always at the heart of a good one.

Till next week - Stay safe and joyful!

Confession Tuesday - Going to Seeds Edition

Dear Readers:

It's been one mowed lawn, one sick dog, several bags of pumpkin seeds, a first watermelon of the season and more snail mail sent out in one week then I've probably done in the whole past  6 months and an untold quantity of Diet Coke  since my last confession.

I don't know what has prompted the craving for pumpkin seeds but I confess you would be well advised to invest in them. I've eaten the at my desk at the office. I've munched on them while driving and they have become a staple during my writing. It's a wonder that I'm not writing  Halloween themed poems. I suppose there are worse things I could be munching on. Still, I don't know how or why the craze has hit upon me but it has.

Dachshund Barry has been doing really well lately. Last year he was withering away and we were concerned about him and had to have blood work done and after a series tests and observations be learned that  he suffered from exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) a condition that basically leads to starvation without adding special enzymes cultures to his food.  Barry went through a bought of diarrhea and vomiting. Not unlike the period of time he started his massive weight loss. Thankfully this was a very temporary thing and went away so we are back to normal. I confess that  when this happened I had much anxiety fearing we were dealing something not  temporary. It seems my worried were without reason.

I still cranking out the poem a day as part of the PAD 30 day challenge. I confess that I am not especially  happy with this year's crop of one day  wonders.  I'm not even sure many of them are what I would call keepers - worthy of working on them.  Sometimes out of this exercise I can pull out 6 or 8 poems that can be turned into something submittable. Just not feeling it  so far and I confess this is disappointing

Seven weeks since I received my  Poet Tarot Cards and I confess I've actually  found them to be a positive tool for examining my work, my work habits, work attitudes, overall appreciation for artistic process. If you haven't acquired a set of them there are two or three days remaining to support the Kickstarter campaign of Two Sylvias Press and receive a deck. You can get the details here for receiving your own deck or just  help support this worthy press.

That's it for this week my friends.  Wishing you all a great week!

Confession Tuesday - Tax Edition

It's Tuesday and time for me to head to the confessional, there are several things on my mind today.

Dear Reader:

It's been two weeks since my past confession. Two very busy weeks at work and a battle to maintain sanity. Sometimes I think sanity is over rated.  But let me get started with  what I'm carrying on my chest.

We are short handed at work. A coworker is out on medical leave and we've had to all chip in and absorb varying tasks that  have to go on.  We've been doing a good job but it is taxing and sometimes when I arrive home I haven't a lot of interest in anything but crashing. Some nights I succumbed to just crashing  and doing TV.  Still, I've rallied to take care of things on my writing to-do list but I'd feel better if I didn't have nights where I'm one extreme or the other...  crash and burnt or wound up tight like a top spinning to catch up on everything.  I confess I could do better with how I handle this time after regular work hours.

In fact the past couple of weeks I've stopped working out on the tread mill. I confess that I know I need to keep this up to: 1. help control my blood sugar  numbers  2. maintain weight control  3. cardio-vascular exercise   4. boost my overall energy level.  So with all those benefits you'd think I'd be on it, right?   And I started Sunday assessing of sorts what  I need to be doing for my Creative Health. My resolve is to get up early in the morning and hit the tread mill before I head to the office. That's a responsible approach to take.

I confess that  I filed my taxes today... the last day. I've been so good about filing the early lately that this is an aberration.  I actually did them Sunday and just reviewed them again tonight, no changes needed and then e-filed them.  I'm not especially proud of myself for doing them at the last minute but I am proud of my wife for never once bugging me about them. Evidently she trusted that I'd get them taken care of.

This week I began rethinking a manuscript that I was in wrap up stage on. I confess this is I think a good thing  because I need to rethink a couple of things and there are two or maybe three poems that need to come out.  I confess this is hard because at least one of them is a very good poem but it is not fitting into the thread I'm trying to weave between the poems.  I confess I realize this is the prudent approach even if  I want it to be otherwise. I'm learning that  the heart and the head both have roles in this process.

I've kept up with the poem-a-day challenge. I confess that  I'm even surprising myself that I have not fallen off the wagon yet and we are halfway though.

As we are in the final week of Lent I confess that it  has been an objective of mine to try my best to practice tolerance daily. Overall, I'm happy that  I've done well at meeting  this challenge and I'm happy that I've made it a part of my  Lenten practice.

That's about it for tonight. Wishing everyone a great week ahead.

Poetry Broadside for Poetry Month 2014

Some of you may have received a poetry month broadside from me in the past years to commemorate National Poetry Month.  After taking a couple years break I have created a new one for 2014.

These are limited. There are 100 signed copies. They are printed on a nice card stock and have a matte finish. I've seen some of my earlier ones framed and they look very nice. If you would like one simply email me Michael Wells telling me you would like one and give me a snail mail address that it can be sent to.

Again their are only 100, and when they are gone, well, they are gone.

The Big Poetry Give Away - 2014

It's The 5th Annual April  Big Poet Give Away.

This year I've decided to participate as a "giver" in the Annual Poetry Month Big Poet Give Away.

All this month there are a whole host of blogs that are participating  in giving away poetry book from poets that are among our favorites.  Each blogger participant is selecting two books to give away, one of their own (if they've had one published and the second from another poet. I'm giving  away Saint Monica by Mary Biddinger and Unmentionables by Beth Ann Fennelly

All you have to do is leave a post  with your name in the comments below and you will be entered.  This has to be done before Midnight  (PST) April 30, 2014.  At the conclusion of the month there will be two winners drawn at random. The lucky winners will me announced the week of May 1, 2014.  Each will receive one book. Make sure you  provide an e-mail address so that you can be contacted for mailing address if you are one of the winners.  There are over 40 bloggers participating. Here you can find a complete listing of  all the participating blogs. This annual event was started by poet Kelli Russell Agodon and continues to provide a way each April (National Poetry Month) to enrich the the lives of more people through poetry.

I've selected  books from two poets that are among my  favorite. I hope that you  will find their work as awesome as I have.

My selections are:

 Saint Monica
by Mary Biddinger.  "Mary Biddinger evokes the patron saint of female abuse victims in narrating  the adolescence of a latter day  Saint Monica. Ironic humor illuminates the poems as in 'Saint Monica Stays the Course,' a hilarious catechism of teeth-gritting endurance. Biddinger crisply narrates these memorable tales that entwine horror and sensual discovery, using deft rhythms, head-snapping line  breaks, and highly original imagery."  - Rachel Dacus, author of Femme au Chapeau and Earth Lessons.

Unmentionables
by Beth Ann Fennelly   "Fennelly's poems are as noisy as a rat in a coffee can. They twich, scramble and all but turn themselves inside out on the page....You get an entire bookful of images in just a page or two." - David Kirny, PASTE

Leave your name in the comments below
if you wish to be entered in in the drawing.
It's that easy! 

If you are new to my blog let me tell you a little about myself-

My name is Michael Wells. I'm married and have 4 grown children. I'm in love with baseball and wish it were played year round. I think of the game as a form of  poetry.  My favorite team is the San Francisco Giants.

I enjoy a good wine. My favorite Chardonnay. I like my wine white and my coffee black. I readily acknowledge I drink way too much Diet Coke.

I do not  have a published book but have a manuscript nearing completion. I have been published in a number of  print and online venues.

I have a number of varied artistic interests.  While I have a full time job, I am serious about my writing and work it into my evenings and weekend writing daily.

Some Favorite Writing Related blogs I read are

• Suzanne Frischkorn  - Litwindowpane
• Kelli Russell Agodon - Book of Kells
• Nic Sebastian -  Very Like A Whale
• Martha Silano - Blue Positive 
• Susan Rich - The Alchemist's Kitchen
• Tara Mae Mulroy - Poetry & Effontery

Wishing everyone an enjoyable month of poetry - and good luck!

Leave your name & email in the comments below to be entered in the drawing. 

Confession Tuesday - April Fools Edition

Dear Reader:

It's been one week of schizophrenic weather, a new baseball season, and several late night tread mill sessions since my last confessions.

It's April first and I committed to the Poem-A-Day Challenge for poetry month. Who's the April Fool now?

I confess that it has hit me the past two days that I have a lot going on presently with  poetry and then along comes my beloved Giants and the start of the new season - all this is pulling at my evening time and causing some anxiety. Family time, poetry time, baseball, exercise, what's a guy to do?

Perhaps this is accounting for my  headaches of late... the anxiety I mean. I'm always looking  it seems for things to link together. If this is happening it's in response to that. You get the picture. I have to confess that I'm not always exactly scientific about the process. I'm sure there is a name for people like this...  crazy wasn't what I was thinking of but  I guess we can use it  temperately as one of those place holder words we writers use in drafts.

The Poem-A-Day Challenge usually  makes me anxious when I've done it on the past.  Sometimes I  say I'm not committing to it  and end up trying to write a poem each day  like I'm sneaking up on the Challenge and taking it on in some kind of sneak attack. It's crazy, I know.  An there is that word again.

I confess my bug-a-boo with  the 30 Poems in 30 Days thing is I'm not crazy about writing  from forced prompts. I don't mind using prompts to kick-start ideas, I joust don't like to feel  on day 7 I must  writ about this prompt. I suppose it's a rebellious streak I have. In addition, I know that few people write "real" poems sitting down and writing  in one day. What usually occurs is a draft. Most often a very rough draft. One you really don't care to attach you name to and post out in the open.

Anyway, suffice to say that  I feel laden with anxiety as we kick off the month. But hey, that leaves lots of room for an improved outlook!

POEM-A-DAY FOUR 30 DAYS

April is coming  and there is no stopping it!  With it will come Baseball, tax deadline and poetry.  Hopefully you dread the tax deadline more than you dread poetry. I would imagine those reading this are likely fall into that category.

Some years I have taken the 30 day 30 poem challenge and some not. I plan on jumping into the month with both feet firmly on the ground and running with the poem-a-day challenge.

Robert Lee Brewer with Writers Digest has a slew of outstanding poets to serve as guest judges of work  for their annual 30 Day Challenge that they promote each year.

You can fine the specifics for the Writers Digest 30 Day Challenge by clicking  [HERE]

Even it you are not inclined to participate directly in the challenge, there is no reason you cannot  take the challenge. Or  try to write at least  something towards a completed poem each day of the month of April.

There are a lot of other exciting things lined up around the country related to National Poetry Month.

There are a whole series of blogs that are participating in the Poetry Month Free Book Giveaway  that  Kelli Agodon organized several years ago and continues to grow.   [CLICK HERE]

I'll have more Poetry Month Information in a couple of days.

Sarah Kay - Ted Talk - One Impressive Presentation

This is so worth listening to. I've heard videos of Sarah Kay before - maybe two or three years ago but I ran across this TED Talk appearance she mad and by the time is was over I was so fired up.  This is one inspiring woman.

Confession Tuesday - Bullwinkle Edition

Dear Reader:  Another week has come and gone and I head off the the confessional for the Tuesday Confession. Come join me....

I confess that I'm a big fan of Rocky and Bullwinkle. When I recently  discovered Bullwinkle in the role of a Poet I thought how cool is that?!!  It seems that poets get so little respect that I'll even take Bullwinkle's portrayal as a poet as a frick'n big deal!

Are all of poets so pathetic?  This is a rhetorical question and one you need not reply to in the comments.
It seem really odd but many countries treat their poets with  much more respect then the American public  affords them. Actually  I confess that  I'm really not  so much bothered by this anymore. I guess I see it as, "It is what it is."  What I do feel is sad for those who miss the enrichment that poetry, literature and art in general can bring to one's life.  It seems odd to me that many people can so easily get into music.  I'm happy for those who find music speaking to their soul. I still look for opportunities the open the eyes of others to the wonders of words through poetry.

I realize April is nearly upon us. I am feeling anxious about April for a number of reasons. I feel like my April plate is going to look like it has multiple helpings of mashed potatoes and gravy.   Poem-A-Day. Maybe a book club. KC Metro Verse's Anthology coming out (which I will have several poems in) - I'm working to tweak a manuscript and I will be doing  a Poetry Month  Broadside again this year.  I've done this is the past but  did not do one last year.  They have been designed and ordered and should arrive soon.

Anyway, I don't want the month to become overwhelming. I've been working hard lately and the writing has fallen into a grove and I don't want that delicate rhythm interrupted if you know what I mean. I need to be able to  keep working hard and lighten up at the same time. I need to be able the Bullwinkle in poets.

Mag 212: My Life Between Four Corners

My Bed by Tracey Emin

It's is my world
my boxing ring
my respite
my motel-hotel
away from things-

My grunge stage
my drinking buddy...
hello vodka and Three Musketeers!

My sleep hole
my vanity
my calamity
staging ground for all things creative-

I've got my floor art
my candy wrappers
origami sheets
fluff dog

And here's my razor-not what you are thinking.
and somewhere is a phone

This is my sex den
my playpen
my aggravating
boredom whim.

I own it
I made it
no one can take it.


The mag 212


Michael Allyn Wells

Confession Tuesday - Dead Poet Edition

Dear Reader:

It has been three weeks since my last confession. I have nothing to say for myself.  Three weeks!

Off to the confession box...

I confess that  last week I was communing with Robert Frost.   Being  honest I would not have gone looking for Frost among the dead poets. He came to me.  I would have chosen a Sexton, Berryman, Plath, Lowell or perhaps O'Hara. But no, I was visited by Frost and one never puts off a gift dead poet.

Maybe Frost is what I needed. By the end of the week I was feeling I had been in the presence of maturity; as well as balance and patience.

This past weekend I made realistic plans for the week ahead and I realistic is the optimum word. I can make a great to do list and it will often be so overwhelming that it can doom me from the start. This I believe is a habit  from my 8 to  5 job because there I have so many tasks that are almost all in crisis mode. This is not the kind of  habit that translates well to the art world. At least no for me.

I'm trying to focus on more exercise these days as well. I hit the tread mill before I came to do my confession. When I parked the car in the garage tonight I looked at my bike and thought maybe before the week is out if the weather doesn't turn bad again maybe.

I confess I'm sporting a bit of a head ache tonight and have been visited by one several times lately.

It was nice to see two of my newer poems published already. That happened this week in  the Spring issue of the Boston Literary Magazine. I always get a rush each time this happens. Is it wrong to feel good about seeing your work out in the world?

If it's any consolation I get more quickly brought back down to earth wrestling with a manuscript that  needs to come together sooner then later. I confess that  I'm relatively certain that a manuscript is not to be rushed, but I need to bring this one to some conclusion.

I confess I can smell the green grass of the ball diamond. I'm so ready for baseball.

Have a great Week!

TWO NEW POEMS published in BOSTON LITERARY MAGAZINE

The Spring 2014 edition of Boston Literary Magazine  is online and the print edition will be available soon as well.

I'm honored to have two new poems of mine in this edition.  As Always BLM has some great work in it. The editors do a fine job!

My two poems are:

I Stole Your Voice  &  I Listen to My Cereal    Go Check Out  All the Work in the Spring Issue HERE!

My thanks to the Editors for making me a part of this magnificent edition! 

Happy St Patrick's Day

The Mag 211: House of Simon

Feast in the House of Simon - 1610, El Greco

It was evident Simon's house was the place

to be this day. More then one Apostle scratched

another event from his calendar 

to make an appearance. Even as it was in the house

of a  Pharisee-  they were in the presence of Jesus

and this would be more then a fresco 

more then a story to tell the grandchildren.

Wine was poured and hard rolls plated 

were hardly touched as Simon would offer

up question after question of the one

they called Christ who would with delicacy

of a needle on vinyl respond to each one.  

The Mag 

Michael Allyn Wells

Saturday Comes Early for Me

The Weekend started early for me today.  I took vacation time starting at noon. Stopped and got chicken on the way home and had lunch with my wife.

It's marvelous outside and countless birds are in agreement. I've heard them from my studio chirping and when I walked out to see if the mail had come I sent maybe six birds flying  from a bush out front.

This week I've launched a new blog site. The Journal of Creative Exploration. This site is intended to follow my creative path as a poet using the Poet Tarot Cards from Two Sylvias Press. Right you you can get your own set of Poet Tarot Cards by backing  Two Sylvias Press on Kickstarter.

Looking forward to a busy weekend. As always, tomorrow is Submission Saturday for me.  Expect to do reading and writing this weekend. I'm fired up and ready to burn!

Magpie 210: Urban Decay

Lee Plaza Hotel, Detroit

The floors crackle underfoot with each step onto particles

of wall and ceiling concealing much of what was flooring.

Each breath tastes of  lead paint dust. Curtains cling

to rubble on the floor like shrouds covering bodies 

except not even the dead are found here. Old chairs, 

their upholstery gnawed by time, their insides gushing out

from wounds. Personal artifacts left behind. A television

plugged into an outlet no longer attached to the grid.

Murals of water stain appear overhead;

signed by neglect, utilizing the ceiling as medium. 

Michael Allyn Wells

Mag 210

Celebrating National Women's History Month

A RESOURCE FOR WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

In Celebration of National Women's History Month I've put together a few resources I've found that offer us an insight into some the the accomplished women who have left their mark on history. Women if courage and character who made society a better place by their work.

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH QUIZ   How many of these 50 questions can you answer. These questions reflect some very significant women who have made great contributions with their lives.

THE STORY OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH  A history of the journey to recognize women in history and their contributions to the world.

NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY PROJECT ON FACEBOOK  Yes, Women's History comes to Facebook

A KID LIT CELEBRATION OF WOMEN'S MONTH  Creating a child's awareness early.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AS A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION   ACLU Blog of Rights.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN  A Resource on Domestic Violence.

SAFEHORIZON  Moving victims of violence from crisis to confidence.

MARGARET ATWOOD ON LITERATURE'S WOMEN PROBLEM  Creating gender blindness in literature.

RESOURCES FOR WOMEN IN ARTS

A ROOM OF HER OWN A foundation for women writers and artists.

I'm sure there are plenty of other good resources that I have missed. But hey, I'm a guy and I'm not  perfect. (insert smile here).

So why  have I devoted a blog post to this subject?  All of us, men and women have benefited from women in our lives and it's way past time that the playing field be leveled. 

Besides of my four children I have three daughters... I guess they have raised me right. :-)

In the Moment

I am careful not to forget
but just as careful not to dwell
in the past-

today is my fragrance of choice.
It is big enough to allow for fantasy.

It is in this moment
we can walk on gravel,
we can skate on ice,
tiptoe through clouds,
and dance on air.

Just Thinking...

"Fridays are susceptible to being more horizontal than vertical." 

Confession Tuesday - Day Late Edition

Dear Reader:

It's been a week and a day since my last confession.

I came home from work tonight and had dinner with my wife and we started watching House of Cards. While doing so I set up my paints and took off my writer's cap in favor of the painter's cap. I started preparing a couple of canvasses with gesso and then began painting  on a canvass that  was already prepped and dry. But  it's after 9PM now and I confess the painter's cap would no longer do and I'm back in  writing mode.

While many writers I know ate in Seattle for AWP I confess I'm feeling a bit envious. I had thought about going but not in a proactive was that I would plan until it was just too late. I will not make that mistake next year.

But next year is a long way off. And next year is Minneapolis and not Seattle. I confess that the difference in my excitement levels on a scale of 1 to 10  is like a 10 for Seattle and maybe a 3 for Minneapolis. So my challenge this week is not to sit and be bummed out about this.

Pictured above is Susan Rich's new book Cloud Pharmacy. My plan is to read this during AWP and to continue my normal writing routine. I have two projects I'm working on presently  so it's not like I don;t have things to do.

I saw an article today with a quote by the short story writer Mavis Gallant who recently died at the age of 91
From a 1999 Paris Review interview Gallant she was quoted as saying, "...I write every day as a matter of course. Most days in the morning but some days anytime, afternoon or evening. It depends on what I'm writing  and the state of the thing. It is not a Burden. It is the way I live." Isn't that a wonderful way to view writing?

I know that this closely reflects what I am feeling these days about writing. I know I am making headway because I've even come to feel good about submissions and I used to really feel they were burdensome. Not any more.

So as AWP 14 kicks off today, I hope all my friends that have made it there or are still in route have a marvelous week networking, hooking up with friends, taking in various panel discussions, attending readings, visiting the book fair and finding lots of exciting books, oh and collecting SWAG. My all your trips home be safe and your suite cases overflow with literature. Meantime, I'll be reading and writing up a storm.

 

MAG 208: Poet's Sleep

Poet's Sleep, 1989, Chang Houg Ahn

And day, nights it's all the same. 

The head falls still on a book or pillow-

the light or dark is turned inside out 

no longer having dominion-   

time is translucent and meaningless

here as images connect sentences

and bring story past or future into

a slice of originality-

the collision of mater,

the combustion of energy,

the flight of notion,

the confabulatory narrative;

which every poet knows to value

above the hype we wrap

in conclusion of reality.

From the red crinkled birthing center

one after one childlike thoughts slide 

out of the head and if the waking poet 

is quick to his pen, he may catch a few

and those that are not lost forever

become fodder for readers. 

Michael Allyn Wells

Mag 208

Confession Tuesday - Mood Ring Edition

Dear Reader...

Forgive me as I rush in at the 11th hour to make my confession. It's been a week of highs and lows since my last confession. Like the weather over this week my mood has risen and dropped like the mercury in a thermometer.

Some of you may remember the mood rings that became the rage in the mid-1970's. The ring changed colors based upon the warmth projected from your body. The color of the ring would signify the mood of the wearer. For instance an Indigo or darker blue meant the person was deeply relaxed, happy, love-struck, etc. Black might mean fear, angst, serious, overworked or  depressed. Orange was stressed, nervous, confused, challenged... you get the picture.

In general the week has been more upbeat then down. I had a really good weekend. Lots of writing and writing related stuff accomplished and that made me happy. Actually the better part of last week was good.
I confess that a staffing shortage at work added to my stress and I felt myself moving between black and orange. (yes, the colors of my San Francisco Giants)

I confess that when I cam home Monday night I was so exhausted I dropped in bed until I could relax a bit and then got up to eat. The staff shortage will continue for a few  weeks and that certainly accentuates the anxiety. Tonight, I almost  brushed off Confession altogether, but I didn't.

Here I am and I have to say that the one thing that I have learned this past week is that  I really seem to get a rush of sorts when I am engaged in writing and writing related activities.  I don't know if it produces endorphins or  what, but there is definitely a bump upward in my mood.

Funny that  even doing  submissions makes me fee happy. Is that crazy? There was a time that I dreaded, no actually hated doing submissions.

I still get frustrated at times when writing. Hell I get frustrated when anything I'm doing doesn't go like I want it to, but on the whole I am realizing that writing is an uplifted for me. Like a SAD lamp in winter, there clearly seems to be therapeutic value in my writing. People talk about all the "depressed poets" or the well know poets and writers that have taken their own lives like there is a strong link between the two. I've felt that myself at times. But right now, the place I'm in this moment is 180 degrees opposite.

So, next time I'm feeling a little down, pardon me while I get high on  writing.


Blessings to you all this week!

Interview With Kelli Russell Agodon - author of Hourglass Museum

Interview of Kelli Russell Agodon by Michael Allyn Wells – February 14, 2014

I’d like to welcome poet Kelli Russell Agodon the author of Hourglass Museum. This is Kelli’s third poetry book and second published by White Pine Press.  Kelli has been gracious enough to answer some questions about her latest book.

 I have to say for me this book was a trifecta.  First, It was solid as a book, a cohesive unit; secondly, the individual poems resonated; lastly, for the countless gemstones that dot the landscape of this book.

MAW:   Kelli, I have to confess that I never saw the word Muse in Museum until I finished this book. Can you tell us a little about how the name Hourglass Museum developed?

KRA:  Yes, “muse” is definitely in the title and a theme throughout the book.

The “museum” part of the title came immediately to me. I knew when I began writing this book that what I was creating was an “invented museum” or “paper museum” and for a long time, Her Invented Museum, was the working title. If I look back in my notes I see this rough jotted-down thought, dated February 11, 2011:  Manuscript Idea—walking from the parking lot (parking lot dream) to the museum door—through the museum and back home (or some place else) the manuscript as a trail through a museum—an imagined museum . . . an invented museum where I can see whatever I want by artists living or dead. how we interpret our lives through art and the struggle of living a creative existence.

I lived with the title Her Invented Museum for a long time knowing it wasn’t exactly right. I tried other words in front of museum, Cloud Museum, Paper Museum; I switched words around and came up with Museum Confidante, Museum Key, but none of those felt right. There was an element missing: time. 

I chose the word “hourglass” to represent time as well as an image of the feminine. I also liked  when you say “Hourglass Museum” out loud, it sounds like “Our Glass Museum” –and that is life.  We are in this fragile place constantly and on any given day someone we love can die, or we can die, or there can be a number of tragic events, and yet, we live our lives as if we’ll be trotting this planet forever. We complain about the weather, get annoyed because Whole Foods is out of our favorite guacamole. It’s our humanness that interests me here and our belief or forgetfulness that all of this is temporary. I wanted to write how we have this gift (myself included), that we are in this incredible museum, this incredible life, which is happening now, and it could shatter at any time.  It’s something I struggle with myself. I am wishing time away and wishing it back more than I want to admit.

Plus, “hourglass” felt like the right word because while writing the book I had many connections with glass, clay, and ceramic items (many breaking) such as while at the writing residency where I wrote most of this book, I shattered at least three (if not more) wine glasses trying to catch various wasps in my bedroom (that image is included in the book).  And Susan Rich lost the crystal to her father’s watch at one of readings in an art museum.  I was also having magical experiences with chalices, so glass and this idea of “being broken” comes into play a lot.

When I finally chose the word and typed HOURGLASS MUSEUM on my manuscript, I knew I was set.  There just comes a time when there’s an inner gut feeling at work and it says, yes, this is it.

MAW:  There were words I picked up on that so often become themes in poems today… joy, suffering, loss, and lonely. But what you wrote was fresh and unique. Did you ever worry about being able to say something new about these things, and making them fit into a bigger picture?

KRA:  That’s a really good question because I don’t really have an answer for it!

When I wrote these poems, most which were written on intense writing residencies, I was squirreled away from the world for one to two weeks and was completely out of touch with real life, the news, my family, etc. In a certain way while working on this manuscript, there felt as if there was a spiritual element at play—many of these poems just came out, almost as if they were writing their first drafts by themselves. Poems were typed entirely whole and I would think, Where did that come from?  But I didn’t question the poem or theme itself.

Now, looking back at them from a more separate and less mystical perspective, I guess I could have worried more about that, making sure I said something in a fresh way or worried about some of the common themes. But I think when I’m writing at my best, I am not living in (or writing from) a place of ego.  “The ego place” would have a much more judgmental questioning to the drafts. The ego worries: Are you doing this well?” Are you doing this right? Should you be writing about this?  In my creating-new-work mode, I just write and allow whatever needs to happen to just happen, without worry or question.  I guess because I realize not every poem has to go out into the world. There will be many poems I will write just to get to the next poem, but they aren’t “keepers,” so to speak.

I never question content of a poem, just the craft. A poet can write about anything (and anything cliché)—the moon, her grandmother, death, etc.—it just has to be written and crafted well.  So I guess (now that I’ve processed this all out) I didn’t worry about saying something new or fitting into a bigger picture, I just wanted them to work inside the book and story I was trying to share. And knowing myself, anything I don’t love gets tossed in the revision process. I am a tough, unrelenting reviser.

MAW:  There are so many poems in this book I like – it’s hard to settle on a favorite. I think “Self Portrait with Reader” is perhaps a strong contender for favorite,  because the metaphor of Mary holding the sacred heart of Jesus transformed into each of us holding up our art and having the courage to do that knowing some may turn away. And when you wrote, “Reader, I want to tell you/the hearts we hold will continue/beating even after we leave here.” I have to say that it spoke to me personally because I sort of look at poetry as a loop hole to mortality. But I’m interested in your favorite… what poem from this book is your favorite Kelli, and why?  

KRA:  “Self Portrait with Reader” is one of my favorites because I really feel, as a poet and artist,  this is what I do every day—here is my heart (or art, myself, or whatever I think is scary or unlovable about me), and I present it to people, to readers with a sort of underlying hope: here is my heart, still love and accept me. Creating art and being authentic can make us feel terribly vulnerable, but that is also where the beauty comes from. And yes, art is our way of staying alive far after we have left the planet.

Another favorite poem I like right now is “Surrealist Angel.” I think because it’s a sort of life instruction pamphlet for Capricorns, overthinking types, or people who love To Do lists (um, basically myself). It’s a reminder not to plan everything and live in the moment.

MAW:  So much about this book seems like it was a very personal endeavor for you.  All the way from the acknowledgement of your many tribe members to the feeling I get emanating from your strong and honest voice that clearly resonates.  Was this book as much of a journey for you as it feels like to a reader? If so, what did finishing the book mean to you?

KRA:  Yes, this book is deeply personal for me and about a journey I am still on. I think it’s one of the reasons I was so anxious about this book coming out into the world—here is my heart and I’m holding it in my hands—that worry of “what will people think?”  I took a lot of risks in the book where I just hoped the reader would stay with me, that they would continue the journey along with me from poem to poem, having faith we’d both make it out together. 

“Sketchbook of Nudes” comes to mind here.  It’s basically my brokenness in poem format. No punctuation, no capitalization, highly fragmented. It’s all the things that keep me up at night—literally too. . . from my old haunted armoire to the fear someone has died.  But it’s part of my museum, beauty and pain interwoven over and over. As a poet though, I realize the people who read my work are incredibly smart and insightful, so I believed I could stretch myself as a writer and take these risks and they would come along with me and go through this darker area knowing there’d be light at the end.

While I didn’t want to it read like a memoir (though technically, a lot of the things I personally struggle with are throughout the book), I wanted the reader to be able to see himself or herself in the poems and in the lines as well. I think many readers of poetry are either writers or creative people themselves, and if you partake in the creative arts, you’re not unfamiliar with doubt, with questioning, with trying to live your life as an artist and all the challenges that come into play while doing that. I think being a writer or artist involves a lot of trust. And a heck of a lot of vulnerability.

As for finishing the book, well, the book came out a year before it was supposed to. I sent it into Dennis Maloney of White Pine Press knowing it wasn’t fully finished, but hoping if he liked it enough that I could get onto the conveyor belt of to-be-published books and have it published around 2015. To me, this was a perfect date. It was mostly done, but I’d have a year to play with it and revise it, it seemed like a perfect plan on my part. But then AWP in Seattle was considered and my pub date was moved to 2014.

My plan of a year of casual revision was compressed into about four months, four intense months of doing everything I could to make this book better and well-crafted. In regards to writing poetry, I have never worked under a deadline before, and in the end I think this benefited the book because I couldn’t be self-conscious about anything (there was no time for that!) I had to make decisions on what was best for the book and each poem, instead of how I would feel if someone read a poem that dealt with something I was a little self-conscious about.  I think if I had more than a year, some of the rawness and/or honesty in the book may have been edited or revised out for appearance sake. I wouldn’t want to look like someone who can’t handle her stuff, or is cranky about volunteering for field trips, or has issues with anxiety, melancholy, balancing writing and family, ___________________ (insert negative human characteristic here). But I think readers connect when we share our demons more than we say, Isn’t it awesome how my house is always clean, how fantastic my family life is, what a great mom I am, how well I can balance things, how perfect the blossoms on the drapes are as I close them. . . (Much of the most interesting parts of life happens behind closed curtains, we can’t really see what’s happening inside, but that’s what interests me.).

And when I turned the final manuscript in, I had this huge feeling of relief until the anxiety came about three months later then I thought Oh-my-God-this-is-going-to-be-a-real-book! The hard part about finishing a book is not having a something to work on. So there’s this mix of both sadness and satisfaction with completion and this new excitement of starting over on something new. That’s where I am today, thrilled about my book and its physical beauty (I love the cover image!), but also looking forward to starting something new after AWP and all my readings settle down.

MAW:  Kelli, speak to me about Frida Kahlo and what she means to you. Would it be safe to say that she was a muse that influenced this book?

KRA:   Yes, Frida was definitely a muse to me throughout the book. After Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room, Frida began appearing in my life in many ways. Even looking back on my New Year’s Resolutions, one of them read: To be more Frida Kahlo. Frida had a strength and belief in herself I admire. When I find myself getting too self-conscious, too over-protective of my feelings and beliefs, too worried, I’d think about her living her life with the challenges she faced (both physical and emotional), and how she presented herself to the world without apologies.

Living one’s life as an artist is difficult if you are really giving it your all—you risk humiliation, rejection, pain, sorrow, personal doubt, not being accepted by others—these are all my least favorite emotions and yet, if I want to create and write the poems I want to write (or felt I had to write), I’d have to put myself on that doorstep. Frida took risks in her art (and life) that I want and wanted to take.

I’ve included a photo of this artwork of her I found at the Habitat for Humanity. I was just driving up to a ten-day writing residency in which many of these poems were written and this portrait of her was hanging on the wall. If you have ever had the feeling that something was placed exactly in the right place for you to find it, that’s how I felt when I saw her in that wooden frame. It now hangs in my office continuing to inspire future poems. 

MAW:  Kelli, I want to thank you for taking time to chat with us about Hourglass Museum.  I have to say it is an extraordinary read.  There are so many unique images crafted from your words that I will take away from this book and always remember. One such line is “I place solitude in a frame on my desk and call it, the one I love.”  When you and solitude are together I suspect great things happen. 

KRA:  Thank you so much, Michael.  And I am so happy to hear that much of the book resonated with you. It’s always my hope that I’m connecting with others.  Solitude and I enjoy each other’s company quite a bit.  I look forward to the future poems solitude and I write together along with what Frida inspires as she watches over my writing space. Thanks again! 



Kelli Russell a prize-winning poet, writer, and editor from the Seattle area. She is the author of three collections of poems, the most recent being Hourglass Museum (White Pine Press, 2014).  Other books include Letters From the Emily Dickinson Room (Winner of the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Prize in Poetry & Finalist for a Washington State Book Prize), Small Knots, The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, Fire On Her Tongue: An Anthology of Contemporary Women’s Poetry, and the chapbook, Geography.  She is the co-founder of Two Sylvias Press and lives in a small seaside town where she is an avid mountain biker and paddleboarder. She loves desserts, museums, and typewriters. Visit her at her homepage: www.agodon.com

Connect with her on Facebook: www.ofkells.blogspot.com

Twitter: kelliagodon 

 Hourglass Museum can be purchased at your local bookseller, through  White Pine Press or on Amazon.com

Confession Tuesday - Give a Smile Edition

Dear Readers:                                                        

Another Tuesday has come and almost gone. It's been one week, two new poetry books, a trip to the Chiropractor and a shitload of snow since my last confession:

I've been mixing my reading and writing in the evenings with Winter Olympics. My wife and I have enjoyed watching many of the events together. I'm torn between enjoying the time together watching and writing and reading which I confess I have cut back on this week. I know I have no reason the feel guilty for appropriating family time and less to reading & writing. But of course that  makes be question if I am usually spending too much time on reading writing?  I try to keep a balance. This is one of the reasons that I pulled back from doing so many events away from the house. Something  I recently decided I may have gone overboard in my pull back.

Juggling has never been a talent that I excel at. I can get the balls in the air okay, I'm just not good at keeping them from falling  periodically. I confess that I play a good game, but all around me things are falling at my feet. I am zeroing in on a project that  I expect will require two to three month really focused work. I've decided I need to get organized about how I handle this and make sure to I break the project up into parts and identify the really critical parts and and tackle them in progression. I don't want things to get  scrunched up at the back end of the timeline where I am scrambling to get things together  or worse throw my arms in the air and surrender. I must keep telling myself surrender is not an option.

In recent times I've been trying to be more upbeat about things. I mean just  everyday things... work, writing, family stuff, finances, future, things that often beat me down but rally don't have to. I tried to be more interactive with people, often strangers in the building at work or in stores, etc. A smile here a hello there. I confess that this is not something that comes easy for me, but perhaps that is what makes doing it that much more rewarding.

Tackling  fears and putting myself out there on the line can be tiring...  I'm calling it a night!

Amen

MAG 206: A Day of Nothing Together

It's morning
you've got everything
I've got nothing

You've got work
chatter at the water cooler
lunch somewhere-    maybe
with someone.
a world awaits you

I've got sunshine
through the morning window
and my hat - only my hat on.

You've got world,
I've got window.

Look am me-
I am what you see
unencumbered by trappings-

I offer you a kiss-
blown without strings attached.

But  I remain here,
an offer to you-

come, let's have a day of nothing
together.



Michael Allyn Wells

Mag 206

Confession Tuesday - Snow White Snow Bright Edition

Dear Reader:

It's been on week of Crazy Winter since my last confession.

So here I am today - at home, all day.  I did not go to work today but alas I was not playing hooky, I received a call from my boss last night telling me not to come in unless I heard otherwise I was needed for an emergency.  Weather people on TV and  radio have been pleading with us since yesterday to stay home today of we can.

The picture on the right is what you immediately see when you open on of the French doors in our kitchen onto the deck.

I confess that I misspoke when I said I've been at home all day. I ventured out this morning with a care package for my daughter who is at KC Pet Project (a no kill shelter) and will very likely stay overnight so that it is assured that she can be there in the morning.

Even sitting in my writing studio much of the day I confess I feel as though I am suffering from snow blindness. A cursory look out my window from time to time keeps me feeling  abuzz with white glare.

I confess that I am fully expecting snow plows to do our street and push a mound of hard packed snow and ice in the mouth of my driveway making it difficult at best to get out tomorrow without significant work/effort. This and the temperatures are expected to drop way into dangerous levels for exposure. At the present time I'm anticipating that I will need to report to work tomorrow. That of course could change but presently I'm counting on the fact that I will need to go in so the ability get out of my driveway is a little more then just a pressing concern.

While at the shelter this morning a saw the cutest dog that was so timid. I wanted to bring him home but then I often see dogs there I want to bring home. More in the house right now is just not an option, but I confess I am a sucker of a dog that tugs at my heart strings.

The Winter Olympics start the week in case you haven't heard. I confess that I am a gigantic fan of the winter games. I love the anything on skies - especially ski jumping and the giant slalom. I love the hockey. Figure Skating, bobsled, curling, you get the picture. In recent years the TV coverage has sucked. I don't like seeing it on delayed basis. I want it all and I want it even if  it's 3:00 am my time.  So I confess the TV coverage will piss me off. I want to go back to the days of Sarajevo when the coverage rocked!

I confess that I am also pissed that a pest control company has been contracted to eradicate stray dogs around and about Sochi. Officials are tight lipped about how the dogs are being killed.

I confess that I am concerned about security for the games and the safety of individuals... athletes and public alike. They are all in my prayers.

MAG 205 - O Beautiful Ache

Nails to ivory—
phalanges pushing
upward to balance
she stretches
her legs apart
teetering on freedoms wings.

Toes roll
across keys
some black
most white.

Tendons feel the strain
ligaments the refrain
muscles move to the sound
of pings—

not a song you’d recognize
but the impromptu
of happiness flowing—

stretched toes
move key to key
some black
most white.

Her feet have never
ached so beautifully
before.




Michael Allyn Wells


Mag 205