It's All Gravy

It's December 24 on the east coast right now, which means my poem "It's All Gravy" is featured today on Poetry Daily.

I began "It's All Gravy" a little over two years ago while on a writing retreat on an undisclosed island in the Pacific Northwest. It was cold and foggy most of my stay, and there were inky cap mushrooms sprouting near my doorstep.

I was in residence to study the cosmos and write poems about it; I was also channeling Pablo Neruda.

I was also reading Simon Singh's The Big Bang and perusing the NASA website.

I wrote the title of the poem I would write at the top of a piece of paper (I knew the title before I'd written a word), and then I started the first draft.

When I went to look for that first draft, though, I came up empty-handed. I know I did some amount of revising over the next few months, but much less than is customary for me; this poem was a relative gift, which is why it seems fitting that it's making its web debut on Christmas Eve.

Seasons greetings to one and all. I hope your gravy boats are full to the brim this holiday season.