You know that feeling when you owe a friend a letter or a call and you think, Oh, I need time for that. I’ll do that tomorrow. And then tomorrow becomes the day after tomorrow and you think, Wow, I really need some time for that letter, I will start tonight. And then you fall asleep, and the days go by, and your guilt grows until pretty soon you’re avoiding even thinking about it.
Yeah, that feeling. It’s been gnawing away at me that I haven’t posted in so long, but I’ve been dealing with an illness in the family. How quickly your world shrinks when someone you love is sick and you don’t know why. I’m confident that everything will work out fine, but Tom Petty was right when he said “The waiting is the hardest part.”
The holiday week brought some time to catch up on The Neglected, and so 2012 is off to a good start. I’m also preparing to start teaching at a community college, in addition to subbing at grade schools, so I’ve been sinking into that “back to school” vibe too. Much different when you’re the teacher, but the smell of those magic markers and the feel of the crisp edges of a new notebook make me feel like everything’s gonna be all right.
And a couple days ago I long-lost boomerang came home with good news: two poems I sent out back in May got published in Glass: A Journal of Poetry! Glass is a fine magazine that pulls together diverse talents and offers poems that resonate with you long after you’ve read them. I’ve been a fan for a while, so this was an honor.
And a sweet way to end the year. I hope it portends more of the same. Now to get back to submitting…rather than let another nagging feeling take root.
Wishing you a gorgeous, lush, vibrant 2012! 
Two terrific poems, Sandy. Yours and George Moore’s are my favorites in this issue Glass. Keep up the good work—i.e., holding the overlooked up to the light….
I mean this issue OF Glass, naturally…!