Time

Question: How long does it take to write a poem?
Answer: As long as it takes.

Although a really bad poem can be written in almost no time. Trust me, I know!

It seems fitting to share, as I may have done before, this panel from the comic strip Shoe by the late Gary Brookins and Susie MacNelly:

On my evening walk, I tried to gather fodder for a future poem, so I could consider this, too, this observation of the world around me, as part of the process. I'm finding that if I have hours a day to spend on reading, writing and submitting poems, I will do so.

I'm starting to feel the flutter of panic that I won't be able to get any of this done once the shelter-in-place order is lifted. But then I think how I have been developing my writing muscle and the habit of working daily, and I tell myself, "There, there, now. Relax."