How to Read a Poem, In Between Holidays, and Galloping Toward 2024

Our red maple

How to Read a Poem

Hello from chilly, blustery November in the Northwest. This picture is from my maple tree during a brief break of blue sky. I was under the weather for a lot of the week (some days not even able to get out of bed)—not covid, but another equally annoying bug I caught probably when I went to the dentist earlier in the week. Sigh. Even Glenn got the sniffles and slept in a bit.

I’ve been trying to prepare a 15-minute talk for my winery bookclub this Wednesday. We’ll be discussing the late Louise Gluck’s terrific book, Meadowlands.

I’ve taught classes to veterans and disadvantaged high school kids and college students, but since I usually teach creative writing, I would instead talk more about how to write a poem than how to read one!

I know what I don’t want to say—poetry isn’t supposed to be an escape room, it’s supposed to be something enjoyed or appreciated the way a piece of visual art or music is. Poetry isn’t autobiography—it can be memoirish, but it can also be fictionish.  But there are some tools poets use that non-poets might want to understand or know about, so I thought I’d talk about those—tone, diction, punctuation, sonics, images, metaphors, etc. Anyway, I hope it will be useful! And if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments!

Sylvia and Charlotte with Halloween decorations

In Between Holidays

As we took down the decorations for Halloween (see the cats who had a lot of curiosity about said decorations), we started thinking about our plans for Thanksgiving (this year we’ll be celebrating with my little brother) and Christmas (only five weeks away now, somehow…which means it’s almost the new year—an alarming thought).

The state of the world, such as it is, seems like the opposite of peace on earth, good will towards men right now, so it’s hard for me with the cognitive dissonance of the news and the celebrating of our usual holidays. But there are still small kindnesses all around—an older man in a cowboy hat helped me when I lost my balance with my cane at the grocery store, waving off thanks, and there’s the kindness and love of my friends and family that they show to each other, even struggling through cancer, covid, money troubles.

Glenn and I with poinsettia tree at Molbaks

I know in my last post I talked a little about feeling down and I’m still struggling myself with—I don’t know, depression and anxiety for cause? It’s hard to motivate myself to do my usual things. Especially when my MS acts up as it did this week, when I got the dental work-related bug. And it’s extra hard to get out of bed when the wind is howling and the rain keeps falling.

But I’m also trying to do the small things that I can do to brighten the days. Visiting with friends and neighbors, buying little gifts for loved ones, reading books I love, even trying to write and submit a little bit after a break of a few weeks. Yes, even putting up holiday decorations or admiring the ones going up around my neighborhood. I’ve even been gardening a bit—planting bulbs, fertilizing my little trees that I’ve planted over the last few years in my small yard, as it feels like something productive even when I can’t be productive in other ways. I also spent time watching movies I love—Before Sunrise, Christmas in Connecticut…old Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant films never fail to make me smile.

There’s something about the end of the year that makes me take notice of the things that happened in the year, significant, happy and unhappy. In the year 2023, I turned 50, I saw my parents and older brother in person for the first time in years, my sixth book came out with a terrific press, and I even did a mini book tour for Flare, Corona (my next reading, by the way, is online on November 19th—no rest for the wicked!) I made new friends among local farmers and winery workers and book club participants. I spent a lot of time walking with my cane through flower fields and pumpkin farms. And even though I feel a little down now, I can say this year really did have a lot of gifts in it.

Carousel Horse at a local shop in Bothell

Galloping towards 2024

Yes, just like this little carousel horse, I’ve felt like I’m galloping towards 2024. It seems like it’s creeping up on us whether we want it to or not! The year of the Dragon! The year of America’s next Presidential election. What good and bad await us next year we have to wait and see.

I’m hoping for a more peaceful year in 2024. I’m hoping this darn pandemic starts to wind down a bit, still having a number of friends and family in the hospital—while trying to dodge the germ myself—is a bit wearying. I’m hoping to find a way to make enough money to pay off my student loans and hope to find a magical miracle kind of work that I can do while chronically ill and disabled and that I actually enjoy. I’m hoping to see more loved ones in person, both friends and family.

So, during this “in-between” holiday season, I’m wishing you peace and joy. I wish you time for fun and hope, not just worry.

And in case you missed it last week, our baby bobcat paid us another visit captured on our Ring camera and here it is: