another poem to be published

i ran in to the post office quickly, the box was stuffed full, i don't know how long it had been since i'd been there last. extracted the contents. new belly dancing cd arrived, american academy of poets, large package. poetry center, envelope--unexpected, wonder what could be in that.

i ran back out to the car and rifled through the pile to the poetry center envelope.

suzie

written in the matriarch's hand, scribbling out my given name.

brushed steel has been accepted for Paterson Literary Review #37.

whoa! i laughed.

i didn't submit it through "proper" channels. i just showed it to her because i thought she'd like it. that is what happens when you frequent the company of publishers i guess. they become receptive to your voice.

i know i never would be being published four times over now, by these tough as nails new jersey poets if i were not living here.

this poem, i am told by a dear friend is the kind of thing former colleagues would want to read.

it is all out there in this poem. i'm not sure i'm ready for it to be published, and i'm glad it will be a year before i see it. coward that i am.

i need to get my work out there still. but the trickle has begun. i am no longer unknown in terms of those with the power to publish me. but i don't write for them. i don't know how to do that. granted my style has evolved, but it has never been about me writing something for publication. only about writing.

it feels good to get this news. i can't wait for the next unexpected letter to arrive. (even an expected letter is a good thing.)

peace.