When We Write Our Lives Sometimes, the Paragraphs Are Uneven

by Susan Rich

Sometimes the world’s paragraph begins with a question mark, and proceeds into long quotations on the subject of invertebrates, and figs. A woman reads the world’s first paragraph as she hipsways her infant and inhales the ocean, spitting it out into miniature islands. She unscrews her plum-colored pen and writes. Am I good enough, will I ever think I’m good enough? She hates the word good, tries out, Will I ever be guitar fish enough? Will I ever be equinox enough? This is a thesaurus of her own making found in a hotel room, long after the weekend guests have gone.

Susan Rich is the author of six collections of poetry and co-editor of two prose anthologies. Her most recent books include Blue Atlas (Red Hen Press) and Gallery of Postcards and Maps: New and Selected Poems (Salmon Poetry). She co-edited Demystifying the Manuscript: Creating a Book of Poems (Two Sylvias Press) and Strangest of Theatres: Poets Crossing Borders (Poetry Foundation). Susan’s previous poetry books include Cloud Pharmacy, The Alchemist’s Kitchen, Cures Include Travel, and The Cartographer’s Tongue–Poems of the World–winner of the PEN USA Award. Her recent work appears in Ploughshares, Poetry Northwest, and Post Road. Her next project, Birdbrains: A Lyrical Guide to Washington to Washington State Birds is forthcoming from Raven Chronicles Press.