Have Words Will Travel

Well hey, I seemed to get a bug up my…uh…I mean I got all motivated after that last post and not only sent out three new submissions yesterday, but also wrote a new poem today. Go me! The only thing is, it’s been two months since I’ve even attempted to write a poem, and I swear I could hear the creaking and moaning of the gears in my brain as they attempted to rev up again. Must keep that machinery oiled, even if I’m just jotting a line here or there. Better to just keep writing a poem a week like I did during school. Keeps the mental bits lubed up, even if it’s not all usable. It is so unbelievably easy to fall out of the habit of producing work regularly, especially when there are no deadlines. I’ve gone a whole year without writing a word of poetry before, and that’s not a place to which I’d like to return. Especially knowing how amazing it feels when I get into a groove. That groove is worth working for!

Special thanks to my homegirl Tanya for inspiring me with her dead bird poem. Maybe not the most transcendent of poetic subjects, but take inspiration where you can find it, I always say. Anyway, dead birds are so much more interesting than, say, love. Or sunsets.

It’s been a bit of a dry spell with my poetry since the end of the semester.  I think summer is a difficult time for me and poetry because of the kids.  They’re home and wanting to be entertained, and I have a hard time being in work mode when I’m doing the mommy thing all day.  Especially when there is so much to do outside.

Submissions, of course, are a little off that schedule because they vary so much in terms of response time and typically take months from the time the submission is sent.  However, I have ten-or-so submissions out there, several of which I should have heard from a month or two ago and haven’t yet.  I’ve been compulsively checking the mail every day, but no SASE’s to be found.  Dry spell, indeed.

Finally, last night I heard via email from Alehouse Press that one of the poems I entered in their Happy Hour Poetry Award contest was chosen for their 2009 issue (coming out in November 2008) and is in the group that will be judged for the finals.  The prize money is really good, so I’ve got my fingers crossed.  The poem was one of those magical ones that comes out almost perfect in the first draft (which hardly ever happens for me) so just maybe…