Thursday Threads: Demon Possession, Poetry Writing, and House Buying

--I wrote a poem this morning--hurrah! 

--I saw this call for poems for the upcoming issue of Hobble Creek Review:  poems that hinge on popular culture.  My first thought was that I have lots of poems which do that.  But as I looked at them, I realized that the popular culture that they reference is very old popular culture:  fairy tales, myth, and the Bible.  Hmm.  Could I write something else to go with my "The Lone Ranger at Midlife"?

--I've been writing about Mary Magdalene and her demon possession.  I thought about referencing The Exorcist, and thus, this morning's poem was even more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

--I'm still referencing older popular culture, but perhaps that's O.K.

--When I went to my poetry notebook, I was surprised to see how long it had been since I attempted a poem:  late June. 

--But I have been busy:  Vacation Bible School, our sailing trip, closing on a house.

--A week ago, I'd be heading to work, expecting that we would close on our house by late morning or early afternoon.  Oh what faith I have!

--You'd think in this age of electronic transmission, it would take less time to get everything (money, documents) where it needs to be.  I spent a lovely afternoon reading A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein, a compelling book, so I wasn't sad when the closing continued to be postponed.

--Until the lawyer told us that we couldn't complete the deal until the money showed up in the account, it hadn't occurred to me that we were moving funds around on a literal level:  actual cash, how strange. 

--And then, finally, we owned another house!  It's all been very tiring, so I'm not surprised I haven't been writing.

--It seems to take longer to prepare for a move these days.  Sure, there's the issue of all the extra stuff we've accumulated.  But it also takes longer to transfer utilities and services.  I spent almost 90 minutes on the phone yesterday trying to arrange to have the phone service transferred.  AT&T handles our phone and our Internet, and the getting to a human took time, and then I had to hear about special deals.  Do I want cable?  How many TVs do I have?  I could watch 335 channels on 8 different televisions if I got a premium package.

--EIGHT TELEVISIONS?  Are there people who really have 8 televisions?

--And if I got the premium package, I could get a Kindle.  That struck me as hilarious and sad.  I'd have all these channels, and they'd give me a reading device.

--No, I kept it simple:  a land line and the Internet.

--Why do we need a land line?  I actually hear better on a land line.  I like the illusion that the land line is secure.

--So, this morning, although there is packing to do, I wrote down the poem that has been percolating in my head.

--And in the next days, I'll revise it, type it, and send it to Hobble Creek Review.  The deadline is August 1, which is not too far away.  Where has the summer gone?

--Soon, I'll be working out of a new house.  May it please be a place of quiet contemplation, of inspiration, of completion of worthy projects.  May it be a place of fun creativity of all sorts.