(a work in progress)

This is Not The End.

To begin again:
James and Wellness,
Sandwich and Signal Fires.
Vitamins chased by cheap rosé, 
down the hatch. An oath to the craft!  
A candle lit, the coffee pressed
#1000 words and 1000 more, and so it goes…

To begin again:
I’m Ann Patchett, or Dani Shapiro—How dare I compare! 
Be modest! Start smaller!
          You, utterly unknown and alone. 
A candle lit, the coffee pressed
Workshop it. Pitch it. Revise, revise, revise…

To begin again:
Eager to rise, quick to ready. Sentences clinging like dust bunnies 
Swiffered from under a bed.
          A tedious task with wondrous effect—almost magic—
Like a magnet, I put thoughts to paper, suspended by the pull and the push,
Of mind and key, unpacking and tapping, 
The outline scrapped (again, again)
A working title attached.

Now, heed the rooster. 
Light the candle, create the mood. 
This [self-doubt] doesn’t serve you.
Breathe deep.
Begin again.

The end.