I received a rejection on Friday from Barrow Street. The one bright spot is that one of the editors wrote, “Your villanelle came very close. Best of luck with your writing.” I’d like some good writing news to come my way very soon.

I’ve been revising poems and reading poetry. I re-read Edward Hirsch’s Wild Gratitude, a book that I admire very much. Yesterday I bought Claudia Emerson’s book Late Wife and began reading it. Her poems are amazing. I can see why she won the 2006 Pulitzer.

I think a lot of the woes in the world could be ameliorated if we could lessen:

- Fear
- Ignorance
- Greed
- Poverty

Fear and ignorance are primary in the list above. I think the other two follow from fear and ignorance, and poverty in part from greed. It's interesting to watch the news and thing about how fear and ignorance come into play.

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The Look

Strephon kissed me in the spring,
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed me at all.

Strephon’s kiss was lost in jest,
Robin’s lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin’s eyes
Haunts me night and day.

--Sara Teasdale


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Cultivate the habit of attention and try to gain opportunities to hear wise men and women talk. Indifference and inattention are the two most dangerous monsters that you ever meet. Interest and attention will insure to you an education.

--Robert Millikan


Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.

--William Butler Yeats


We train people how to treat us.

--Dale Richard Buchanan

(A thought on that: It is difficult to re-train people how you would like to be treated in the future once you've trained them. People resist this.)