The Bats

I am in New York state working on the sale of my family's home. I haven't been able to focus on writing until I made myself do some journaling last night. But this morning I drafted a poem that had been, um, battering around in my head since I got here as something I wanted to write while I was in this space. I just wrote it during the weekly Tuesday morning Shut Up and Write (#suaw) hour for academic women (and others) hosted by Lisa Munro on Twitter.

So, go me! I think it's a viable poem -- I do feel like I am regaining some ability to write poems. I'd love feedback for improvement though if anyone feels so moved. It is just a rough draft!

I can't put quite into non-literary words what I am trying to express here. Family memories, of course, but also something of what I am dealing with at this time of my life, reflections on who I am and what I have lost and might re-find inside myself. The scariness of otherness both outside and inside, but realizing that what is strange and scary is not actually bad.

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[poem taken down during submission for publication]