Goodnight

Posted on June 12, 2003 in Book of Days Poems Writing

Note: This is part of a series based on exercises from A Writer’s Book of Days. It’s something of a rebellion against the Friday Five and similar tupperware content memes.

Today’s topic: Afterwards, I thought about….”

Note: I’ve been pushing myself to fill a seventy page notebook with writing. Maybe it’s a little mad, but the writing must be done and terrifying things must be faced. Right now, I miss doing poetry — the notebook wants to fill up with other things today. So I write them, run ideas through templates that I’ve developed, etc. just to see the pages fill up quickly. It’s brain-exhausting work and I am looking forward to going out this weekend if the rain allows. I’m also facing a couple of pivot points in my life in the next week or so. I’m not “worried” about these, but I can’t help but feel the stress.

I don’t know what this writing today is supposed to follow. Maybe yesterday’s entry. Maybe the seven pages I wrote yesterday. I’m not sure who is speaking here, who is arguing with me. It scans like a poem and yet it is incomplete. I’ll call it such:

Afterwards,

After the writing

I thought about taking a rest

shoving the pen aside, forgetting it,

letting it drop like a flaccid penis

letting nothing flow from it.

I’d pushed too far.
No I didn’t.

You never push far enough when you write.

You don’t push enough.

That’s the problem with this place, this body

Too many Is and I am the only “you”.

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Won’t someone join me in these memes?

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Want to participate? First either get yourself a copy of A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves or read these guidelines. Then either check in to see what the prompt for the day is or read along in the book.

Tomorrow’ topic/prompt: These were the doubts I had.