We were so lucky to have some rain yesterday, first a scattering in the early afternoon, which returned with increased seriousness around 530 pm, while I was getting a hair cut. I could see the rain in the long mirror reflecting the street behind me. It was falling on the cobblestones and between the rails of the tram tracks and my annoyance at the hair cutter who kept me waiting 45 minutes dissolved there.

Before midnight it rained again, and into the small hours. This morning is fresh and in the 70s — absolutely lovely. It is a relief to forget about the apocalypse for an hour or two.

Which puts me in mind of a poem! Many poems, actually. But also a visual poem of mine that recently came out in Ballast, “My Darling,” which I mean with all my heart:

the best of wives
is fresh air

Sometime last year I submitted lots of poems from the ‘Classic Crimes’ series and over the past weeks it seems they’ve been sprouting up in bunches. Last month it was Seneca Review and Surging Tide, and this month Ballast and Diagram published 4-5 pieces each. I think there is just one still to be published somewhere, plus a couple smaller batches of poems currently under consideration.

Links:

Ballast published four poems: “Despite This Fair and Honourable Record,” “My Darling,” “Beautiful Unanimity,” “Subsequent Hue” and “Haunted o’Nights.

Diagram, one of my favorite journals, published “To the Satisfaction of All Concerned,” “Seat of Learning,” “Of Whom We Shall Hear Again” and “Warm Bath.”

I hadn’t done anything new from this series for a while, but found a good poem and image last weekend, and off it went. I doubt I’ll get any creative time today because I am off to Barcelona this afternoon, sadly, where the temperature is less kind.