Day 18, 30X30

O beautiful morning light. The countryside so green. Brockport was so breath-taking yesterday.
The procession of Bradford pear trees in full bloom-- stunning holy suds, frilly white; equally stunning the sputter and cough of snow. I don't remember seeing beauty quite like this. Makes me forgive all the world's short comings.

Peter turned over the gardens on tax day, which is very early, and wasn't as taxing as he thought it would be(couldn't resist the pun). Our seed flats are started. We have our fingers crossed for a successful growing season. Oh, and good news found the Lilies of the Valley sprouting, but get this, they're caught in dandelion fists. So this is going to require some delicate surgery. Dandelions, what the Chinese aptly call Earth's nails, so hard to pry from where ever they decide to seed, which is everywhere when you're living in the country. In many ways, I'm grateful when I see this hardy survivor. Means our environment isn't full of poison.

Peggy Shumaker's poem "Long Before We Got Here, Long After We're Gone" was on Verse Daily on April 16, 2010. So you will have to go to archives to read it, but well worth the read. It's from her latest poetry collection Gnawed Bones (Red Hen Press). I'm going to do a review of this book in May. So stay tuned.

I'm still trying to keep up with the 30X30. Had to smile at Kelli Agodon's post, confessing that she was "writing a head" so she doesn't fall behind. She was up to 25 poems. So she could easily exceed the 30, right? Which means there may be an Olympic category for this. Kelli, you're setting a record!

Next week is the last week of the Spring semester. So much to do. We're having a lot of events: student art exhibit, Celebration of Words, final presentations, preparation for final exams, last papers . . . . The week will fly by. I wish the weather wasn't so distracting. Want to be outside, not stuck at a desk. I'm going to work for a couple hours, then go for a bike ride in the park.
Then come back and dive back in. I'm nearly done.

Day 7, 30X30

Today is my mother's birthday. If she were alive, she would be 100 years old. She'd be seeing me get old. Years ago, when Meghan and Nick were little, I invited my mom (dad too) over for her birthday secretly, so my other siblings wouldn't get jealous, and we asked Gary Jacobs, our neighbor at the time, to hitch up his surrey and take my mom on a birthday ride through the park. It was a glorious day, warm and sunny, and when mom saw the surrey coming down Moscow Road and turn into our driveway, she got up,without any fuss, really like a dream, she lifted herself into the surrey and off we went-- clippity-clop, clippity-clop. She was so happy. A surprise that really was a surprise.

I've been moseying around the gardens and have seen signs of perennials coming back. No Lilies of the Valley yet. I wounder if it's too early, or if I should be worried? Mind you, the warm weather has me snooping around earlier than usual. I'm anxious for the planting season. I want to be outside and digging in the dirt. I'm tired of carrying a heavy book bag of stuff wherever I go. I'm always lugging things around. It's getting annoying. I want to wear sandals and cotton sundresses. I want to be comfortable.

Meghan was home from NYC this past weekend. Great to see her and catch up on her adventures in the city. She has landed a part in a play Living Among the Natives, which will
be playing in Manhattan in May. Meghan plays a 10-year-old, Lulu Native. We will be going down to see the play as soon as the semester is over.

Still keeping up with this 30X30:

Poem titles :

7. "Constellation"

6. "A Beautiful Arrogance"

Day 6, 30X30

Woke up early,early this morning, the moon looks like a wedge of a blood orange. Have been puttering around, writing email responses (this could be a job in itself!) and getting ready for today because it's always today. Going to work with a kindergarten and second grade class before I'm off to work with my college classes. Today is the beginning of registration for Fall 2010. Nothing like living ahead of one's own shadow.

Recent poems accepted in The Raleigh Review and Tar River Poetry; story included in Six Sentences (print issue).

I'm on task with the 30X30:

Here are the titles thus far:

5. "Something Brief, But Bright"

4. "In Morning’s Darkness, The Rooster Crows"

3. "When There’s Nothing To Say"

2. "How It Happens"

1."Humoring Warhol and his Camera"

Day 4, 30X30

It's Easter Sunday. Cooler morning, but still warmer than it's suppose to be. In years past, the crocuses had mouths full of snow on Easter Sunday. I'm hoping this warmth means our summer will be warmer and drier than last year. We lost so many vegetables to the constant rain.


I'm hoping we will be able to take a canoe ride today. It didn't rain last night, as predicted, or if it did it was a light rain. Thunderstorms will be coming through mid-week. I have more papers to grade before the week begins. April is such a strict month. Too much to do.


Spent time yesterday tweaking poem #3. I keep looking at the list of prompts and feel like I've done them all. Of course, I haven't, but just thinking about them requires a certain effort, and that effort translates into something finished. This same reaction occurs when I study a store catalog. Once I flip through the pages, I feel like I've bought it all. Although, the other day, I did buy a new set of pots and pans. I've been thinking about burying all the old ones in the back yard. The three poems I've written thus far had nothing to do with the prompts. But I look at the list nonetheless. I don't follow recipes either. I imagine this project could be pointless and deadly for some. Best to keep a sense of humor and celebrate what works.

Now to work on number 4. Then get stuff ready for brunch.

Day 3, 30X30

Wrote a decent poem today. Surprising how upset can fuel the imagination. I'm wearing red socks. I'm making a statement in these socks. I'm putting my feet to the fire, so to speak. I'm feeling quite feisty, so watch out.

Yesterday, my sister listened to me complain. She's a good sister. She listened to the whole story without saying "What?" once, which is really good, because I can't stand repeating myself, over and over again, which I have to do when I'm with her. I'm not sure if she can't hear me, or if she has trouble understanding what I'm saying. My stories are complicated, as if I'm speaking in the same way Henry James writes. Funny too, because my story is another kind of "turn of the screw."

After listening to my whole story, my sister looked at me and said: Friendship is overrated.

Once again, my sister has the last word. She makes me laugh, which made me feel better.

Remember this: kindness does not beget kindness. In fact, it encourages opportunistic people to take advantage of you. Be clear in what you do for others. If it's from your heart, then it's a gift. But, if you think you will receive equal kindness in some future, then you need to say it upfront that you expect kindness in kind. I grew up with the notion of people helping each other; but, for many, this notion isn't shared. It's all about them. It's terrible to find out how truly shallow they are. It's so disappointing. I expected more from them. I really thought they were better people-- real human beings. Not true. They're savages.