Today I completed a second pass through Appearances.  I'm getting a clearer idea of what remains to be done--without, that is, being entirely sure.  This is the only single text I've written that's over a hundred pages long.

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Dinner tonight is going to be a simple affair, cheap but good--chicken livers roasted with potatoes, carrots and onions, olive oil and tarragon.

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One byproduct of working so long on Appearances is that I'm really getting anxious to think poetry again.

I was wrong in thinking that I could produce a first draft of Appearances in a year. It took over three. And my poetry took a backseat during that time.  Which made for some anxiety (which I'm anxious to resolve).

I don't regret the Appearances project.  It's a struggle I chose.  And I chose it because I wanted to see if I could make a big piece out of my limited means.  And that, in the course of editing, is exactly what I continue to try to see.

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Damn, that roasting tarragon smells good.

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