My David Bowie Baby

Can I just say that I love how many people have posted pictures of David Bowie on my Facebook since I first posted a status about writing a poem about him. It cracks me up every time I see the pictures of his face in various stages of his life and career. I think he's kind of become my spirit animal. The poem isn't even really about him. The Labyrinth movie is just a metaphor for what I'm trying to get across about the narrator's relationship. But the narrator likens himself to David Bowie, so I've been calling it my David Bowie baby, because I've had to convince people that it has to play off the movie and not just the myth of the labyrinth. So, in a way, I feel like I've been fighting for Bowie. Heck, maybe it is Bowie at this point. It started off from a female narrator, but it had to shift to male so that he could be like Bowie. So whatever works, right? Anyway, it's still in the stages of revision. I haven't found the perfect note for it yet.

Unlike my I'm in St. Louis to Find You poem (featured at Parable Press). After its latest revision, it is offically complete, according to my lovely mentor. All I had to do was find an adjective for the Mississippi River. I was like, "Uh, dirty?" I decided dirty kind of spoiled the overall tone of the poem though, so I went for dark. Which was for sure better than dirty, smelly, brown, ugly, etc. I'm still on the fence about the title, but my mentor doesn't seem to have any problem with it, and I guess it works for what I meant. Either way, it's the third poem that I am pretty positive will be in my thesis--eventually my book. All of my poems kind of took a turn though, so I'm sure next semester, when I have to start assembling my book, is going to be real interesting. I watched one of my friends start putting hers together this weekend.

Actually, I'm kind of excited about it. I want to make all those connections, put them in order, make them the real deal. And then I'll wave them around and be like, "Look what I can do!" Even though now I'm not sure the title I was thinking about for my thesis/book works anymore. I'l figure it out though. Really, I've just been fortunate to have amazing mentors that have pushed my work to become more and more over time. I still slip back into habits, but I can see how I've been condensing and working on doing what I'm told. It's something I'm trying to pass on to my own students. Who are amazing. I love them. Every Monday, I remember why I want to be a creative writing professor.

So, anyway, this past weekend was my writer's retreat with my friends. We went out to the wilderness of Makanda and stayed at a really cool cabin. Spacious, a little dated  and creepy, but magnificent. We wrote, cooked dinner at night and ate together, drank wine, and spent one great evening in the hot tub. Why don't I own a hot tub? Probably because I'd get nothing done. Ever. I wrote four poems while I was there, two of which I like. I didn't churn out as much as I'd have liked to, but I think I really just wanted to appreciate the company that I was in while I had the time.

And I did. I missed my friends, and I miss them again now. If only we all lived closer together, but it just makes our time together that much more fun. The weekend was especially nice hearing from my mentor that she liked what I had going on in my poems from my last packet. Especially since, the morning before I left, I received a rejection letter. Ouch. But whatever, it's just part of the game. Someday, somewhere, someone is going to love my David Bowie poem! I did, however, find out that I'm still in running for the contest I was really anxious about. Final decisions by the end of April. Can I wait that long? It's like a never-ending waiting game over here!

Plus side? End of April is my trip to Louisville, the next week, I'm going to Disneyland (the kid inside of me is screaming with delight), and then at the end of June, I'm going to the Harry Potter convention in Oregon. To top it all off, my next residency will be the first week of July, when I return. It's going to be a busy, busy summer, but I am so excited. I'm more focused than ever on my work.

Poetry is my number one deal. As long as I have it, I'm sane (to some degree). So I've decided to put all of my energy and focus into it this year in hopes for big results. So we will see how this goes.

Back to revisions!