About “Enumeration,” “A Day in the Life,” & “Faraway Eyes”

1. What was your motivation for writing “Enumeration,” “A Day in the Life,” & “Faraway Eyes”?

“Enumeration” was an account of my daughter’s stay in the hospital and the impotence I felt at not being able to do anything to help her. “A Day in the Life” was inspired by the way our dogs seem to rule our lives. We love them, and we adjust to their schedules rather than them adapting to ours. “Faraway Eyes” was inspired by a scene I observed on the street in downtown Dallas. I ached for the young woman, but there was nothing I could do to help. Others, more qualified, were doing what they could, but the situation seemed to be heading toward a tragic finish.

2. What challenges—if any—did you have writing your poems?

“Enumeration” was one of a series I wrote about my daughter’s hospital stay. She was in for two weeks, in ICU part of the time. I didn’t write a word until she was home safely; then to poems just poured out of me.

3. What is your favourite line—if any—in “Enumeration”?

The final line: “needs nothing I am able to provide” is my favorite line. It encapsulates the helplessness that engulfed me during her illness. We are meant to provide and protect our children, yet I was forced to relinquish her care to others. All I could do was sit bedside and watch.

4. What is your favourite line—if any—in “A Day in the Life”?

Perhaps, just the final word. “Perverse.” Sometimes it seems as though our dogs purposely set out to disturb our slumber. Their schedules just do not coincide with ours, and we, because we love them, somewhat grudgingly adjust ourout lives to fit their schedules. 

5. What is your favourite line—if any—in “Faraway Eyes”?

“Her story is written on the topographical map of her face.” Is my favorite line. The bruises and scars told her story more eloquently than any words possibly could. The young woman had been abused, and she seemed so angelic, which made the brutality she’d suffered seem even worse. Who could batter an innocent child?

6. What do you want people to walk away with after reading “Enumeration,” “A Day in the Life,” & “Faraway Eyes”?

After reading “Enumeration” and “Faraway Eyes,” I’d like readers to consider the terrible things that happen in this world, and possibly to step in and help when they can. I want readers to feel empathy. As for “A Day in the Life,” I want to leave readers with a chuckle at the way we are willing to adapt to fit our pets’ schedules, even though it should probably be the other way around. 

7. Is there anything else you would like to talk about regarding “Enumeration,” “A Day in the Life,” & “Faraway Eyes” that hasn’t been asked?

I would like to add that none of these poems were written at the time the events were happening. I have to live with a situation for a while before I am able to understand what I felt/feel about it. The emotion comes first, then reflection, then understanding of the event and the way it affected me.

Reading

1. What are you currently reading?

I read a lot of poetry and a lot of Scottish mysteries (primarily police procedurals). I usually have a book of each going at the same time, and I read according to how much down time is available. Short time, a poem or two. More time, a chapter in the mystery.

2. Do you have a favourite book? If so, what is it?

As to poetry, my favorite is probably Benjamin Myers’ book Black Sunday. It is written as a series of sonnets, each spoken by someone living in a small Oklahoma town during the dust bowl years. It is not a new book, was written several years ago, but it really brings home what people endured. As to mysteries, I am currently fascinated by Lin Andersen’s series about a Scottish ME. She weaves the personal lives of her characters throughout the plot in a masterful manner. She makes us care. 

3. What is your favourite poet or author, if any?

Benjamin Myers, of course, Tony Hoagland, and I have recently discovered Chen Chen. 

4. Do you gravitate towards reading genres outside the ones you write?

I seldom read anything other than poetry, Scottish mysteries, and the occasional non-fiction on a subject that interests me. I’d say that two thirds of my reading is poetry. 

Writing

1. Why do you write?

Something strikes a chord within me, and I feel obligated to write it down, even if I never show it to anyone else. I write a lot about my childhood on Chesapeake Bay. I love the area.

2. What do you love about being a poet?

The thing I love most is the companionship of other poets: workshops, reading, just discussing poetry with them.

3. What time of the day do you write, and do you have a writing routine?

Alas, I have no routine. I do tend to write primarily early in the morning or very late at night when the house is quiet and everyone else is sleeping. I do not write much in workshops or guided lectures. I really have to dwell on a subject for quite a while before I understand how I feel about the subject and what I want to say about it.

4. Where do you get your ideas from?

Life. Everywhere.

5. How long does it take you to write your projects?

Sometimes I wake up with a poem in my head, write it down, and seldom make more than a couple minor changes. Other times, I research, write, and revise, revise, revise. The poems I wake up with tend to be the better poems.

6. What advice would you give to other authors/writers/poets?

Just write it down. Put it away for a while. Come back and make the changes you feel are needed. I highly recommend workshopping with other poems. Sometimes they will spot places where you’ve over-explained or places where the poem is unclear or just bulky. You don’t have to make changes others suggest, but it doesn’t hurt to at least consider them.

7. What project(s) are you currently working on?

I said I’d never put together another book, however, I am considering a couple of chapbooks. One will consist of primarily bird poems; the other will be persona poems. Both are very tentative at this point.