Collages

Well, we're back from an eternity spent in Arizona (rather, an eternity traveling to and from Arizona, for work, for a work meeting) and today was one big blur. We landed last night at 8 and waited too long for our baggage at the claim and then the Van Wyck was a parking lot followed by more parking lot inaction on the FDR, so despite the fact that the "E. 96th Street" exit sign hung overhead in the near distance finally around 8:42, we still spent forever trying to get home (in the cab) and 2nd Avenue was such a delight for my eyes when it finally came into view. So, home by seconds after nine, we ordered Chinese delivery and settled into our pig sty apartment (going away for the weekend does nothing for chores, let me say so firsthand.) I wrapped up some poems for Sharon, sent them off, climbed into bed while Craig stayed on the couch to witness the Red Sox making it to the World Series the second time in the span of a few years (wow) and what did the remote control find me but a chick flick on TNT, so, completely wired, I watched TV until beyond 12. Needless to say, 5 a.m. struck me this morning like a bag of bricks, and I felt like a walking idiot all day today. After work, I traveled back to my New School stomping grounds and paid $5 to see Sharon read her poetry on the 5th floor, in a steamy room filled with lots of her readers and fellow poets and thieves of language, and there I saw two old classmates, Tony and Turi, who were both completely unsure of who I was at first! Ha! I made some fumbling comment about losing a lot of weight. Tony, who is a famously gay drama student, eyeballed me from head to toe and said, "Wow, that *is* the thing that's different!" I felt good.*Tonight I dominated a revision of an older poem and sent it to Sharon, along with 2 other newer poems which we will discuss tomorrow at our session. I'm down to 4 sessions left after tomorrow: I'd better make them good. I nearly guaranteed her I'd submit work at the end of our time together, and that means revise, revise, revise. Thus far, I've written a lot but revised little. Drafts, make your way into my master plan beginning now!*I think I titled this post "collages" for a multitude of reasons, one being that the above posted picture depicts the diverse nature of New York City only in buildings, as shown here. There's the expanse of curtainwall in the background with the crumblings of hand-laid old brick in the foreground. There's the idea that maybe, just possibly in my studies of Anne Sexton, Elizabeth Smart and Sharon (last name left off for respect and because I never asked permission) I might have the opportunity to pair enough interesting things with enough other interesting things to make a decent enough collage that someone wants to hear it. Just maybe.