Poetry, poetry, everywhere?

On my birthday weekend, I learned that a short poem I dashed off one afternoon is to be included in Off Topic Publishing’s September Poetry Box! What is a poetry box, you might wonder. Well, in this case, it is a subscription service which brings you a poem on a postcard, a bit of chocolate and tea, each month. You can sample a one month or three month subscription before committing to a full year. These poetry boxes are currently only available in Canada, because we are the coolest.

I am very excited to see what my poem will look like on a postcard!

This year so far, I’ve been having much more positive feedback about my poetry, while my short stories are struggling. I have decided not to fight this anymore, and as of a few days ago, have launched into a poetry project – to try and and write a poem every day from now until my next birthday. I do hope to also work on stories and other projects, but my creative priority each day will be to make a poem.

From previous shorter-length poem-a-day experience, I know that some days will be quite a struggle, some days will prove impossible and I’ll likely need to take breaks along the way to avoid complete frustration. I also know that some days the poetry will come very easily, some days the poetry will be bad, some days (like today) it will be silly, and some days it will be pretty decent. And I am hoping, that over a whole year of habitual poem-making, I will come across a few inspired pieces that I will be proud to share with you, world.

The poem going out in the poetry box is dedicated to my dog, Annie. What kind of dog is Annie? Annie is the best dog. She is a good girl. Yes she is. Even though she steals green beans out of my garden.

I debated putting a photograph of Annie here in case you’ve come for a look at her, having read my poem – but really I also dedicate this poem to all the Annies, and I want you to feel free to imagine your Annie as whatever looking dog you wish.

Thank you for reading. Until we meet again!