Exercises in journal-keeping and notes
in the margins of long-shelved or cherished books
always manage, somehow, to embarrass me.
And I’m not willing to do the therapy
to understand that better. I don’t keep raw
notes of all these, either—which might be a loss.
I prefer the cabinetry of poems,
selecting pieces for or against the grain,
measuring twice or more, then cutting many
times. I like the search for knobs, attaching them,
pulling them out, looking, pushing them back in
Dan Overgaard was born and raised in Thailand. He attended Westmont College, dropped out, moved to Seattle, became a transit operator, then managed transit technology projects and programs. He’s now retired, and his poems have appeared in As It Ought To Be Magazine, The High Window, Glass Poetry: Poets Resist, and elsewhere. Read more at: danovergaard.com.
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