Teeny Tiny Press by Amanda Laughtland

Well, I've been writing in my journal now and then (and writing things for work), but I haven't worked on a poem in a very long time--a few months anyway, but who's counting? I finally did draft something. I almost called it "An Appreciation" as it's in appreciation of the man who sells Real Change outside the post office on Greenwood Avenue. But then I figured my appreciation was clear. In Front of the Post Office "Hello, queen," sings the man who sells newspapers. You wouldn't think I'd be so charmed, but who else greets me this way? When I leave with my paper, I never hear another customer receive the greeting I almost believe he keeps for me.

I wrote a series of poems a few years back when the Chehalis River in Washington state flooded and blocked Interstate 5 for days. In reading and watching news stories about the flooding in Colorado, I've thought a lot about the people there and the damage to the landscape and roadways. We drove to Boulder last year when I went to Colorado with Trish to visit her family, and it's amazing to see how Boulder Creek has become such a raging body of water. Tonight as I was thinking of this current flooding, I remembered the poems I wrote about the Chehalis. Here's one that borrows found text from a map of road closures. Closures and Restrictions Trees down. Sinkhole. Broken levee. Debris in road. Rising water. Mudslide. Several lanes washed out. Watch for mud and overflow from ditches. One lane. Local traffic only. Deep water marked with cones. Rough but passable. Bridge intact. Highway clear. Heavy traffic. Open to all cars. Open to trucks with perishable loads.

I've been meaning to post to this blog, but I've been very tired. Turns out that the iron stores in my body are very low. By 5pm or so, I'm pretty much done for the day lately. Well, I'm taking iron supplements and trying to eat more iron-rich foods, and hopefully I'll have rebuilt my iron supply soon; I'm being conservatively optimistic in my hopes because I've read that this can take several months! On that note, here's a poem I drafted recently about taking vitamins. Unseen Needs of the Whole Family To grow taller, to resist sickness, to miss less school, to have stronger bones and more endurance, to feel tip-top, to have good appetite and digestion, to prolong your useful years, to meet the stress and strain of life, to help build good red blood, to prevent deposits of fat in the liver, to prevent fragility of the capillaries, to promote sound nerves, to have lots of energy, to feel less depressed and lonely, to meet the dietary needs of t...

Do you ever go to the library to get some work done? I'm not sure if it's more effective or not, but I've felt less than productive lately, so I thought it was worth a try. I did actually get five pages of work done, so that's something. After this little break, I'm hoping to finish three more pages. Meanwhile, check out this poem by Lorine Niedecker that someone painted on a brick wall. Photo by Andy Wallman. OK, three more pages...!