The Long Break

All of a sudden, I realized that I had barely written a thing in almost three weeks.  At the conclusion of the thirty days of the haiku-a-day challenge, I felt it necessary to take a few days off from writing to release all of the static electricity that had built up in my mind from not only writing haiku, but all the other poems, short stories, and other writing projects that bubbled up during an incredibly creative period.  Unfortunately, my daughters simultaneously caught long, drawn out colds that developed into ear infections.  All of that cleared up just in time for Thanksgiving, which for the erudition of my non-American readers, is a huge secular civic holiday celebrating family, general thankfulness, and the final autumn harvest, as well as kicking off the holiday shopping season.  The continuous influx of extended family and accompanying friends coupled with the increased ambient noise of holiday cheer drowned out my inner muse for the entirety of the long weekend.  I am still working on more poems regarding the Occupy movement and the despicably violent response by several municipal governments and their representatives that I began in mid-November.  I have also begun to write more haiku and some limericks, inspired by the sublime Salman Rushdie’s Kardashian limerick, as creative jump-starters.

In the meantime, following up on a Thanksgiving tradition, I want to express how thankful I am to my wife and several close friends who have acted as beta readers for my poems prior to my posting them on North Station.  I am also very thankful for my new friends in the local North Shore of Masschusetts poetry community who have ancouraged me and made me feel welcome at poetry readings and writers groups.  Finally, I am thankful for the readers of this blog.  Thanks for the break.  More poems are on the way.