More writing

It's Thursday morning, and I have been making good progress on my memoir during the retreat week. Yesterday I even gave up an invitation to hike to Crabtree Falls because I wanted to stay at my desk in the library and keep writing. I finished reassembling my book, including a new ending, but I am still not satisfied with my beginning. I hope to fix that up today.

Last night I read at the student readings. I wasn't ready to share my current work, so I read my poem "Invasive" from last year, and I think it was well received.

Invasive

 Phragmites australis

reed under siege
damned by naturalists
userper of cattails
wild rice,
wetland orchids
 
dubbed Phragmites vulgaris,
but noted in brackets
[illegitimate name]
Phragmites thickets
make poor homes
for mussels and crabs
 
prolific Phragmites
lovely on roadsides
sturdy tall reeds
with fluffy tan plumage
blowing in gentle
onshore breezes

Phragmites americanus
decried as an alien
no longer welcome
I used to call you “sea wheat”
amber waves of grain, I thought
from sea to shining sea
 

James Kershner, January 2016