Happy Valentine’s Day But Did You Notice We’re All in Hell?, Lesley Wheeler’s Newest Book Mycocosmic, the Full Snow Moon

Glenn and me on Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day (But Did You Notice We’re All in Hell?)

Has it been Valentine’s Day already? I have to admit I was not feeling very romantic this particular Valentine’s Day, what with the world burning down all around us, and how we must live not only with it, but act against it.

I posted this poem on Valentine’s Day, originally published in Poets and Artists Magazine and part of my new manuscript. I hope you enjoy it.

Lesley Wheeler’s New Book, Mycocosmic, from Tupelo Press

A book that you should own immediately—I promise, it will make you feel better, even as it tears itself apart—is Lesley Wheeler’s Mycocosmic, which explores the family, the world, and the body in metaphors of mushroom, is her most direct and moving piece yet. I loved her fiction, Unbecoming, and I think this book will actually finally get her into the light where she belongs. Some of the poems, like “Sex Talk” and “Smart” (the ultimate poem for all smart girls, I mean it should be an anthem.)

Mycocosmic with mushrooms

Just a fragment from “Map Projections:”

When my father died,
I said to my sister
I’m sorry I let
him do that to you.

My sister said: No,
I wasn’t even on his radar. 
He didn’t think I 
was worth it.
He aimed for you. 

The whole book, like the mycological systems it describes, has an underpoem that runs underneath the individual poems. It’s such a unique and moving book, whimsical and witty. It’s ecological in a way that makes you believe again in the superpowers of nature and feminist in a way that makes you examine your own behaviors and shames. It’s hard to explain, but you should get yourself a copy. Lesley is the kind of writer that you must respect, one whose work ethic puts others to shame, and the kind of friend who tells you that you can get through anything. Not just a great writer, but an exemplary kind of human.

Full Snow Moon

An ominous full snow moon

Meanwhile, the bath renovation drags on and on, costing more and more money, and keeping me unsettled and unhomed while waiting for the dust and toxins to abate. I am a creature of routine—maybe that is more because of my chronic illness and disability than my actual personality, which I might describe as more adventurous and outgoing. But right now, I’m hardly able to get any work done, although I have written three poems in the last week and had a poetry acceptance at a new journal that I think is very promising. My plans for Ireland and France aren’t exactly on the back burner, but I’m taking my time with research.

In my own neighborhood, I’m looking forward to a new reading series at J. Bookwalter’s winery, maybe widening my circle of friends in a time when it seems enemies and paranoia are everywhere. It pays to be kind, always, but you know, smart and kind. Wise as serpents, as the prophet said, innocent as doves.

Valentine’s picture in which I look like I might hit someone with a lot of tulips

In case you’re not already doing this, update your driver’s license, your passport, get a passport if you don’t have one, keep a copy of your passport (card sized) in your wallet. Keep your papers in a safe at home—your birth certificate, your social security card. Show your papers is a new American pastime for the new Nazi regime. Yes, urge your representatives to actively work against prejudice, sexism, destruction of American constitutional rights, the environment, protections from corporate corruption. But also, protect yourself. As the seventies song For What It’s Worth tells us…well, just listen to the song. I have had bad dreams almost every night since Trump’s re-election, some about the destruction of women’s rights, some about the destruction of the American economy, some about the extreme isolationism. Oh, and bird flu. Anyone who tells you it’s not that bad is not paying enough attention.  Cassandra is rarely listened to, but remember, she was always right.

A grim time, indeed, my friends, but don’t lose hope. Joy and hope can radiate a little light, and who knows who needs that light right now?