building stamina

It’s May! Cranking out of a poem a day got harder this week, and I am looking forward to taking a break now that April is over. But I don’t want to stop altogether—the whole point of NaPoWriMo is to develop a poetry-writing practice, so I’ll try to keep it going. I won’t be teaching another poetry class until June, so I’ll have to find other ways to keep myself motivated. Yesterday was Poem in Your Pocket Day so I posted this tricube—I’d never even heard of the form (3 stanzas of 3 lines with 3 syllables per line) until my student Emmy suggested it during class. I’ve missed teaching but I don’t miss traveling…I did quite a few Zoom events last month and enjoyed connecting with kids, teens, and adults across the country. I know some people dread the extension of the lockdown, but it wouldn’t really bother me. I’m trying to be aware of my privilege: I have a spacious apartment with a deck and small yard, I can earn money without working outside my home, and I can pay for food delivery (though the May Day strike has me reconsidering that option). I remember being surprised months ago when I realized how many food pantries there were in Lancaster, but now I’m glad they exist and every donation I’ve made has resulted in a personal email of thanks. Today I went to Central Market and it was nice to see some familiar faces—everyone waiting in line was wearing a mask, and most people were using the red tape on the floor to maintain a proper distance from other shoppers. I worry about folks pushing to reopen businesses before we’re ready, but we don’t seem to have too many gun-toting extremists here in Central PA. I worry about a second surge in the fall but right now that feels like a lifetime away. Time is crawling but all we can do is live in the moment and let go of the luxury of planning our futures. We can still dream, of course, but we have to be practical about what’s possible…