The first

Today, I was by the river. It was running brown with rainwater, everything spring damp, soaked with cold. I was thinking about how as you get older, the world seems to work against varied interest; one must button up and represent several interests in singular and presentable coat. As individuals commit to a profession, territory is marked just so. You are recognized by proving yourself in different realms, in gaining credentials, in performance. You are recognized but perhaps somewhere along the way, that representation is not the public self you thought you were designing. Interests pile up inside the coat, your heart is beating, but a woman who you do not know well has already got you pegged. So you don’t say anything and then you are uncertain when to speak, if at all. Uncertainty makes the wrong feelings acute. I was thinking about this watching the mud color water pool, foaming. All the trees raised flowers on dark branch. The scene was as if dreamed; so alive that a breath went out of me, committing it all to memory.

This is a place for me to keep record of some of the things I read and some writing too. I hope it’s a place where personal and public can meet comfortably. Because, as some things become more uncertain, others come sharp into focus. The central importance of reading and writing is clearer now than ever before. WS Merwin wrote a famous single line poem called Elegy. Who would I show it to? I still love that line. And yet… There are many people who I wish I could speak with; some people who I wish I could just speak more regularly with. I hope this blog keeps us recognizable to each other. And also, perhaps, to spark new conversations.

Book Power!