Trip to town turned up
two skeletons playing cards.
Now it’s back to work.
Serendipity
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First days of first artist’s residency
A-frame cabins glow.
Awaiting inspiration,
I nap, stare at trees.
Note: I’m not normally a writer who sits around waiting for inspiration. I’m firmly in the camp that showing up is half the work, and that a consistent writing practice builds creative muscle. However, the minute I got here I realized how physically exhausted I was, so I gave myself a couple days to NOT write, trusting I would hear an internal signal when my body had rested enough to begin. And sure enough, this morning I woke up ready to tackle an essay that’s been impossible to wrestle into shape.
Lessons from roadside assistance
Idling charges cars*;
Shut off music, don’t hit brake
When you turn on car.**
*and not driving on the freeway, like I thought! I guess battery design changed in the early/mid 2000s.
**if your car battery is 12V and it takes 9V just to start your engine, then on cold mornings the idea is to shut off any accessory you can, as each accessory has an associated voltage requirement. So your radio, the heat, those windshield wipers you forgot to set to neutral, even holding down your brake (as I was taught to do in driver’s ed) causes the brake lights to come on in the back
Sunny afternoon
Two quilts top the bed.
Wedged between sleep’s corners: bliss.
Cars drift by outside.
“You’ll be stuck with us forever,” he said
Client timelines change.
“It’s a good thing I like you.”
Laughter all around.
6:04 PM
Glimpse the sun’s last rays
as we start our evening run.
First hint of spring’s approach.
Life of a creative writer
Revise, submit, wait.
Sometimes months between cycles.
What a strange hobby.
Community theater
Three rows hug a stage.
Thai spirits, Black displacement.
Best production yet.
Small compensations
Freelance benefit:
Work from couch when work is hard
(Or boring … or long …)
Starbucks substitute
Chocolate o’clock:
Blueberry caviar with
lavender essence.
Jessica Yen 