As residency;
As geologic soufflé:
Holds space for magic.

As residency;
As geologic soufflé:
Holds space for magic.

The days slip by, yet
progress is great. More! Faster!
Hunger never filled.
Your voice curls around
my heart. Landline to cell phone,
distance compresses.
Working amid a
fortress of pine: thoughts flourish,
pen speeds along page.
Cork board reads: when stuck,
Skip ahead three paragraphs.
Mantra for the month.
Trip to town turned up
two skeletons playing cards.
Now it’s back to work.

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.