So let the punishment begin. I participated in National Poetry Writing Month last year by writing a poem a day throughout April. The habit stuck and I'm back for 2011. We may need some more coffee.
She came to our town to read
so I picked her up at the airport
drove her everywhere
had cappuccino
squired her to the reading
she actually used the word squired
when she signed my copy of her book
That night she killed
that’s why we chose her for this
after dinner with friends
and a lot of fine wine
she held forth on her life
how she knew early on
it was the only thing
she was called to do
It hadn’t clicked at first
she spoke of the first anguished years
shoe boxes stuffed with nasty little letters
from vapid little editors who didn’t get her
and when someone asked how she kept going
I will never forget when she said
she knew deep down
she was writing damn good poems
And this caused me to wonder
what manner of faith each of us brings
to believe the same things about each other
with or without stuffed shoe boxes
[From the prompt by Robert Lee Brewer to write a "what got you here" poem]
Why is it so important to be published? The harrowing experience of being judged by editors of dubious talent is just another humiliation.The quality of new published literature is appalling in this country (what about yours?) because they are always looking for what sells..lowest common denominator choices.Squiring is a term I'm not familiar with. Sounds dodgy.These old ladies can be tricky you know:)Put a few lead weights in the kilt.
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